In 2017 the UCF Knights finished the regular football season 12–0 to win the American Conference Championship. The undefeated season earned the Knights a trip to the Peach Bowl, where they dispatched Auburn. Despite the spotless record, UCF was not among the four teams selected to participate in the College Football Playoffs – that distinction was given to Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama (all four had one loss apiece).

UCF named itself the national champion, which was good for a chuckle, but there was some very serious talk among some very serious people that what happened to the Knights would not be repeated. After all, we were told if we “took care of business” and “won all our games” and “won our respective conference” the rankings would take care of themselves and the Group of Five would receive its just deserves. This standard wasn’t applied to all conferences – just the G5. But fine. Give us a Herculean Labor and watch us clean the Stables of Augean.

The College Football Playoff Committee was forced to make good that pledge in 2021, when the Cincinnati Bearcats submitted a perfect 13-0 record and finally made it past the velvet rope. Finally, we had validation that a G5 team could be seen as worthy of national aspirations. Among the Group of Five community, there was much high fiving.

Turns out, the Bearcats magic 2021 season was the worst thing that could have ever happened to the Group of Five. Since then, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston were poached from the AAC, which triggered a cataclysmic round of conference raiding that decimated Conference USA and the American while cannibalizing the PAC12 to its demise. Furthermore, the SEC and the BIG10 have consolidated power, with an ongoing campaign of reducing its fellow “power’ conferences to rubble.

Meanwhile, because nobody asked, Derek Dooley is campaigning for a G5 Playoff while dozens of sports wonks are casually drafting designs for super leagues that erase the majority of the G5 from all of existence.

The College Football Powers simply couldn’t abide a Group of Five program sullying their revenue stream – after all, that’s why the Bearcats (and the Knights) were suddenly allowed entry into the Power Club. They can’t be G5 if they’re P5, right? G5? What G5? But that wasn’t enough for the SEC and BIG10. The PAC 12, the Big 12 and the ACC didn’t realize it, but the SEC and BIG think you’re small time. The disdain you had for the Sun Belt? The SEC has for you, bruh.

The Bearcats proved that the Group of Five could play ball with anyone, and for that, the Powers blew it all up. We got to cocky, y’all. We forgot our place. Now everybody but a handful of ultra-wealthy programs get to matter. What a system.