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WATCH: Cincinnati defender cleats Houston's Marcus Jones after a play

Wade-Peeryby: Wade Peery12/04/21

The battle for the American Athletic Conference is getting heated this afternoon. The Cincinnati Bearcats are up 14-13 on Houston in the first quarter. There was a dirty play by a Bearcats defender when he stepped on Houston’s Marcus Jones‘ ankle after a play.

Check it out below. The number of the defender is unclear and hard to see in the video.

When exactly it happened is unclear, as they didn’t talk about the play much at all on the ESPN television broadcast. Regardless, it’s a dirty play and clearly he intentionally stepped on Jones’ ankle.

That kind of play should be an ejectable offense and at the very least, a personal foul penalty. I’m sure the Houston coaching staff will see this and will have a discussion with the American Athletic Conference’s officiating crew. They won’t be happy with this at all, nor should they be.

Cincinnati and the College Football Playoff

A number of teams are cheering for Cincinnati to lose this afternoon in the American Athletic Conference Championship, as College Football Playoff spots are at stake. The Bearcats currently sit at number four in the College Football Playoff rankings and Notre Dame is the team that will benefit the most from them losing. If Houston can pull off the upset, the Fighting Irish will likely punch their tickets to the College Football Playoff, a week after their old head coach, Brian Kelly, left them for LSU.

Cincinnati running back Jerome Ford brought the juice to the AAC Championship, ripping off a 79-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Check out the run below.

Big time players show up in big time games and that was an impressive run by Ford. He had ripped off 182 carries for 1,055 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns coming into the AAC Championship. He’s only padding those stats this afternoon.

Of course, Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder is firing strikes in the game today, as well. He’s carried the Bearcats on his back all season long and today has been no different.

Check out the toss below, as he threw a 25-yard touchdown strike to his receiver, Tyler Scott.

That toss put the Bearcats up 7-3 early in the first quarter. It was a beautiful touchdown pass from Ridder and he can really throw a nice spiral.

The college football world will have their eyes glued on this game all afternoon with the College Football Playoff implications.