AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco hammers CFP as 'Power 5 invitational' following initial rankings reveal

The first College Football Playoff Rankings of the 2021 season are out, and it looks like the Committee has more of the same in store for Group of 5 teams.

One of the big stories of Tuesday was Cincinnati. Luke Fickell and his undefeated Bearcats are up to No. 2 on the AP Poll, a 9-0 record that includes road wins over Indiana and Notre Dame.

Unfortunately, the CFP Committee does not agree with AP voters on Cincinnati. Instead, Alabama with one loss checked in at No. 2, igniting another firestorm of “SEC bias” comments from fans and media.

Besides not being No. 2, the Committee also did not feel that Cincinnati’s resume was deserving of a top-4 slot. The Bearcats came in at No. 6, and it appears clear the Committee has no intention of giving them a serious shot at getting into the Playoff.

After the rankings were revealed, AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco went off on the system. He hammered the Playoff as a “Power 5 invitational” while pointing out the Committee sets their prophecy by not ranking deserving AAC teams. That allows the Committee to harp on teams like Cincinnati for not playing enough ranked teams.

Take a look:

Spoke to AAC commissioner Mike Aresco a little bit ago. He was, quite understandably, upset about the rankings. Called them "indefensible." Also didn't understand how SMU and Houston were not ranked, especially since Fresno St and San Diego State were in there.

— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) November 3, 2021

More from Mike Aresco: “It’s clearly a P5 Invitational. I'm disappointed that Cincinnati wasn’t ranked higher. Some of the teams ahead of them don’t appear to deserve to be ahead of them. The goal posts always seem to move."

— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) November 3, 2021

AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco to @YahooSports: "It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. The committee doesn’t rank our teams that deserve to be ranked, then they turn around and say they don’t play any ranked teams."

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 3, 2021