AAC Commissioner Criticizes CFP After Latest Rankings, Says BCS Was 'Fairer'

American Athletic Conference Commissioner Michael Aresco believes the BCS was a better system than the College Football Playoff after negative treatment of Cincinnati in the latest rankings.

Aresco complained about the current system Wednesday on The Paul Finebaum Show:

"This is the seventh year [of the CFP], and it does appear the deck is stacked against us and against other [Group of Five teams]," he added, via Mark Schlabach of ESPN.

Cincinnati is 8-0 but dropped from No. 7 to No. 9 in the CFP rankings despite being inactive for two weeks. 

Two-loss teams Florida, Iowa State and Georgia all rank above the Bearcats, with the first two likely having a better chance to reach the playoff if they win a conference title.

Cincinnati's last chance to impress the committee will come Saturday against Tulsa in the AAC title game.

"The eye test has been used over the years by the committee, but they refuse to use it with a team like Cincinnati," Aresco added. "This is a really elite team."

The Bearcats rank fifth in the country with just 15.0 points allowed per game, while the offense ranks 13th with 40.9 points per game.

This isn't the first year the AAC will likely be shut out of the playoff despite having an elite team with a legitimate claim.

UCF had an undefeated record going into the bowl season in both 2017 and 2018, and the Knights beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl in 2017 to finish 13-0. It still wasn't enough to finish within the top four spots according to the committee, preventing any chance to compete for a national title.

Small-conference teams weren't getting much of a chance during the BCS era, but the computer-based system at least created more objectivity in determining a champion.