How will the College Football Playoff selection committee treat Cincinnati now?The Bearcats beat Notre Dame 24-13 on the road for a program-defining victory on Saturday in a top-10 showdown. Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell earned a signature victory, too. He knows what comes next."We may have to fend off people talking about the playoff," Fickell said. "That's a great thing."BENDER: With this victory, Cincinnati should be held to the same standard as Notre Dame when it comes to College Football Playoff talk a team outside a Power 5 conference. Forget about that Group of 5 label in the American Najee Harris T Shirts Athletic Conference. Use the eye test, which shows Cincinnati has surpa sed Notre Dameon the field.The Bearcats led 17-0 at halftime at Notre Dame Stadium as a favorite and closed out the Irish with a TD run by Desmond Ridder. Remember, Cincinnati was the favorite in this game. Notre Dame is no longer unbeaten, and the Bearcats are the reason.Let's run down the other Power 5 conferences not named the SEC, which has the inside track on two CFP spots with Alabama and Georgia (more on that in a bit).The ACC's lone unbeaten team left is Wake Forest. The Bearcats would be favored if they played the Demon Deacons.The Pac-12 doesn't have an unbeaten team left after Oregon's lo s to Stanford. USC, the conference's most-prestigious program, is looking for a new head coach and has two lo ses. Fickell shot down speculation that he is that guy.MORE: The Big Ten could be an i sue. It has four unbeaten teams in Penn State, Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State. One-lo s Ohio State is still the team to beat in the conference, too, and the harsh reality is a one-lo JuJu Smith-Schuster Jersey s Big Ten champion still bumps an unbeaten Cincinnati.So that leaves an interesting scenario. Cincinnati needs its future conference to tank. The Big 12 features Oklahoma, a team that also stays ahead of the Bearcats because of its unbeaten record. The Sooners also have won four one-score games against FBS opponents this season. A one-lo s Oklahoma team would not deserve a bid over undefeated Cincinnati.Thats a suming the CFP committee will treat Cincinnati right.The Bearcats may have a percieved easy path to the playoff, butthis path hasn't been easy. It's taken trips to UCLA, Michigan, Ohio State and a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl appearance against Georgia for Cincinnati to build its program toward this season. All itcan do is keep winning in a season where ranked teams continue to fall at a record pace."If we do that and we go undefeated and we play 12 or 11 perfect games, whatever it is, as good as we can, and they still don't put us in there, that's not our call," Ridder said. "We don't have the call to make the playoff."That is the bad thing. It is about how the CFP committee treats the Bearcats from here on out. In our mind, it is an easy call if those scenarios unfold.It is time to treat Cincinnati like a playoff team.Here are some more winners and losers from Week 5.MORE: WinnersJIM HARBAUGHHarbaugh, the coach we used to love to tweet about, led Michigan to its first win at Wisconsin since 2001 in a 38-17 blowout. It was the Wolverines' first victory as an underdog since he took over as head coach in 2015.Can you take Michigan (5-0) seriously without bringing up Ohio State? You're going to have Rocky Bleier Jersey to because there is a long way to go before the season-ending referendum against the Buckeyes.Michigan still has road games at Nebraska, Michigan State and Penn State before it can get to the Buckeyes. The Wolverines also appear headed for an increased time-share at quarterback between Cade McNamara and freshman J.J. McCarthy, who accounted for two TDs in the second half.But this is Michigan's first 5-0 start since 2016, a season in which the Wolverines lost to Ohio State on "The Spot." This looks like Michigan's best team since then, too.TWO SEC TEAMS PLAYOFF TALKMore specifically, Alabama and Georgia CFP playoff talk.Through five weeks, the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs have established a considerable gap between themselves and the rest of the FBS competition. Among all Power 5 schools, they are the only two to have scored more than 200 points and allowed le s than 100 points through five games.MORE: Georgia is working on back-to-back shutouts after throttling Terrell Edmunds Jersey Arkansas 37-0 in a top-10 showdown they won without starting quarterback JT Daniels. The Bulldogs have allowed just 23 points, and this looks like Kirby Smart's best team yet. The Bulldogs would be ranked No. 1 if the CFP rankings were released Tuesday.Of course, Alabama is working on an FBS-best 19-game winning streak and disposed of Ole Mi s 42-21. Bryce Young continues to play like a Heisman Trophy contender, and the running game picked up against the Rebels.If both teams get to Atlanta with an unbeaten record, then it's a fair a sumption both would get into the CFP. Anybody who has watched these teams play so far would be hard-pre sed to argue against that.KENTUCKYIs there room for a third SEC playoff team?Right now, that would be Kentucky. The Wildcats scored a home victory against Florida for the first time since 1986.Trevin Wallace's 76-yard blocked field goal return for a TD was the unexpected spark, and a goal-line stand sealed a 20-13 upset.That just happened. | TD return - - | Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) Kentucky (5-0) is the third unbeaten in the SEC, and the Wildcats have managed to win ugly the last two weeks. Quarterback Will Levis has cooled off, but running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. has rushed for 441 yards on 6.1 yards per carry in three SEC victories.Mark Stoops continues to do a phenomenal job, but the next two weeks there is more history to overcome. Kentucky hasn't beat LSU since 2007 or Georgia since 2009.IOWA Every six years the Hawkeyes produce a team capable of winning a Big Ten championship under Kirk Ferentz. The 2009 and 2015 teams had that feel, and this years team has that look after an impre sive 51-14 blowout against Maryland.Iowas defense has Cameron Sutton Jersey produced 16 turnovers and a +12 turnover ratio, and Spencer Petras played his best game of the year against the Terps. This is a veteran team, but Penn State has won the last three meetings at Kinnick Stadium.The last two have been by a combined total of seven points. Ferentz is 11-22 against top-10 opponents with Iowa, but that includes a 7-8 record at home.A win here, and the Hawkeyes are a great bet to be 11-1 with a chance to win the Big Ten championship in Indianapolis.KENNY PICKETTIt's not often a Pitt quarterback gets put in the same sentence as Dan Marino, but Kenny Pickett pulled that off in a 52-21 victory against Georgia Tech.Kenny Pickett now has the Pitt record for most TD pa ses (14) in any 3-game stretch.Dan Marino previously held that record with 13 TD to begin the 1981 season. Pitt Football (@Pi
