Mike Aresco doesn’t suppose there’s any good motive why Iowa State needs to be ranked forward of Cincinnati within the School Soccer Playoff rankings.

The Cyclones jumped to No. 7 on Tuesday evening after a blowout win over West Virginia. Cincinnati, which hasn’t performed since Nov. 21 due to COVID-19, fell a spot to No. 8. Huge 12 member Iowa State is 9-2. American Athletic Convention member Cincinnati is 8-0.

Aresco is the commissioner of the AAC. And on Wednesday he expressed his frustration with the rankings to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“It actually cannot be defended. It is indefensible,” Aresco instructed The Enquirer on Wednesday. “This workforce (Iowa State) has two losses. Why will we hassle to play the video games? The workforce forward of (Cincinnati) misplaced by 17 factors, 31-14, to Louisiana. That workforce additionally misplaced one other recreation to Oklahoma State.”

Playoff committee chairman and Iowa athletic director Gary Barta stated on the playoff choice present that Iowa State’s three-spot leap was extra concerning the Cyclones and fewer concerning the Bearcats.

“So it was actually the committee’s respect for what Iowa State has accomplished and never a penalty in opposition to Cincinnati,” Barta stated Tuesday evening.

Mike Aresco is not proud of the way in which that the playoff committee is treating Cincinnati. (Brad Horrigan/Hartford Courant/Tribune Information Service through Getty Photos)

The AAC has by no means had a workforce within the playoff

Right here’s the uncomfortable fact: the playoff committee has lengthy been biased in opposition to groups who aren’t in Energy 5 conferences. No workforce outdoors the ACC (and Notre Dame), Huge Ten, Huge 12, Pac-12 and SEC has ever made the playoff.

That wasn’t going to vary this yr, regardless of Aresco and Cincinnati’s hopes. The Bearcats now have only one recreation remaining this season. Cincy will play Tulsa within the AAC title recreation on Dec. 19. The groups have been alleged to play a make-up recreation on Saturday too, however that recreation was canceled as a result of COVID-19.

If Cincy had been in a position to play and beat Tulsa twice it will have completed the season at 10-0. However there’s no motive to suppose why it will have been within the playoff except Texas A&M misplaced once more and groups like Alabama and Florida each misplaced this upcoming weekend.

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It was evident early this season that the committee was going to worth Energy 5 groups greater than others when BYU discovered itself outdoors the highest 10. Barta stored noting that BYU’s schedule wasn’t nice, although that was a product of the pandemic. BYU noticed its Energy 5 video games disappear earlier than the season and needed to scramble to fill out a weakened schedule after the massive conferences went to conference-only schedules.

The excellent news for Cincinnati is that it’s nonetheless clearly the favourite to be the Group of 5’s consultant in a New Yr’s Six bowl recreation. A win over Tulsa ought to make that berth a formality. However the playoff isn’t taking place this yr. Nor does an AAC playoff berth appear seemingly anytime quickly.

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