Assessing the Darkhorses: Can Cincinnati play for the BCS title?

There's no denying the status quo: If they win out, undefeated Texas will play the winner of the Alabama/Florida SEC Championship for the BCS Championship. If there's attrition among the the "Big Three," though, the palace is open to a horde of barbarian contenders whose path to Pasadena isn't nearly as clear-cut. This series examines their prospects. Today: Cincinnati. Assumptions: The Bearcats have no chance at the title game -- absolutely none whatsoever -- unless they finish 12-0, and they still face the two toughest games of their season, at home against West Virginia on Nov. 13 and at Pittsburgh for a possible winner-take-all game on the first Saturday in December. Cincy also has to deal with UConn, which dealt the Bearcats their only conference loss en route to the Big East title last year, and Illinois, which set itself up as a pending turnaround story with its first decent effort of the season in last Saturday's win over Michigan. Virtues: Cincy is...