It’s finally here, one last chance for Cincinnati to show the College Football Playoff Committee they belong in the 2021 College Football Playoffs. It won’t be easy for the Bearcats, though, as they get ready to welcome the Houston Cougars to Nippert Stadium for a highly anticipated American Athletic Conference Championship matchup. For the 5th time in Championship game history, Saturday’s American Athletic Championship game will have two top-25 teams going to battle for ultimate bragging rights, and maybe just maybe a Playoff trip as well.

For Houston, Saturday’s matchup with Cincinnati is the Cougars’ chance to play spoiler to the Bearcats Playoff hopes and bring another Championship back home to Houston in the process. It won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination, but Houston can come out Saturday afternoon with fire only Houston is capable of producing.

Head Coach of the Houston Cougars had this to say about Championship Week against Cincinnati following the win over UCONN last week.

” We knew we were going to be in this game, but yet we had to take care of business and play Memphis, and then we had to take care of business and play at UConn,” Holgorsen said. ”That’s tricky. Those are trap games and, we didn’t fall for it.”

For Houston to win at Cincinnati on Saturday, the Cougars will need another complete game from their starting quarterback, Clayton Tune. In the win over UCONN on Saturday, Tune threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns in that 45-17 win over the Huskies. Backing up Clayton Tune on the offensive side of the ball, the Cougars have Nathaniel Dell, who caught two touchdowns last week, Jack Herslow and Jeremy Singleton, who both added 100-yard receiving games to already explosive Houston offensive units.

Clayton Tune had this to say about getting used to the colder weather at UCONN and how it’ll play dividends this weekend as the Cougars travel to frigid Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati.

” It’s going to be cold up there (in Cincinnati) and, that’s something we’re not used to,” Tune said. ”So, it’s good to get out here and play in the cold and get used to it. I think we’ll be ready for it next week.”

For Cincinnati, Saturday’s championship with Houston is the last chance they have to prove who this Bearcats team is and if indeed they’re deserving of a College Football Playoff. Like Georgia, Cincinnati has been on a whirlwind of a season, and with a win on Saturday, Cincinnati will have their shot at competing for a National Championship.

Cincinnati has been a team all season, that despite not always playing to their full potential this season has always found a way to win ballgames and, that’s what great teams do.

Last season, Head Coach Luke Fickell led his Bearcats to an AAC Championship and bid to Peach Bowl, where they fought the Georgia Bulldogs hard but fell by three points leading to another memorable season in 2021.

Led by Desmond Ridder on the offensive side of the ball, the Cincinnati Bearcats are hungry and ready for the opportunity that presents itself on Saturday against Houston.

Overall, Saturday’s American Athletic Championship game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Houston Cougars promises to be one of the most exciting matchups of the day. It’s one of those matchups that the Bearcats should win, but Houston is a formidable foe for the Bearcats. Saturday’s Championship game also has the potential to separate the men from the boys. A win on Saturday for the Bearcats would just be the icing to an already delicious cake of a season.

Cincinnati and Houston will kick off on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 Eastern Standard Time, with the broadcast going live on ABC.