Tom Groeschen

tgroeschen@enquirer.com

Speculation heated up Sunday about the University of Cincinnati being a prime candidate for Big 12 expansion, after that league was left out of the College Football Playoff.

Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State all earned conference title wins over the weekend, while TCU and Baylor split the Big 12 championship. The NCAA forbids conferences with fewer than 12 teams from having championship games, which means the Big 12 would have to expand to 12 teams to have a scenario where one "true" champion is decided.

With the lack of a deciding game perhaps costing the 10-team Big 12 this year, talk began again Sunday about which teams could be candidates to boost the league's membership to 12 teams.

Those schools could include UC, Memphis and UCF of the American Athletic Conference. BYU, Boise State, Marshall and Colorado State also have been mentioned, among others.

Sources say that UC is working to move into the Big 12 or another Power Five league, although UC will not confirm that. This past week, Cincinnati.com asked UC athletic director Mike Bohn about where the university stood in terms of league realignment. Bohn would not comment on realignment possibilities, saying:

"We're doing everything we can to enhance the national visibility and respect of this program, and to be the class of the (AAC) league."

UC on Saturday beat Houston 38-31 to complete a 9-3 regular season, as the Bearcats won a share of the AAC title (at 7-1) along with Memphis and UCF. The Bearcats learned Sunday that they will play Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl on Dec. 27 in Annapolis, Maryland.