College football rankings 2021: Projected Week 13 AP Top 25 after Oregon gets steamrolled, Alabama survives and Ohio State shines

16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Wake Forest had a prime opportunity to go on the road and affirm that they were the best team in the ACC this season and take one step closer to finishing off a perfect conference record. Instead, the Demon Deacons offense was shut down, at least by their own standards, while the suspect defense allowed Clemson to have by far the Tigers’ best game of the year on Saturday.

The 48-27 loss in Death Valley on Saturday is going to be tough to swallow for Wake fans but, the good news is that they aren’t done yet. They finish their season next week on the road at Boston College and, with a bounce-back win in Chestnut Hill, the Deacs will be able to make the ACC Championship Game.

15. Michigan State Spartans

Well, that was certainly not the performance we were hoping to see from Michigan State in a huge spot. They lost in upset fashion to Purdue a couple of weeks ago but had opportunities still to prove their quality, specifically with a matchup against Ohio State. Instead of proving themselves, they served as nothing more than a runway for the Buckeyes offense.

As if the 56-7 loss in Columbus wasn’t demoralizing enough, the Spartans also saw their best shot at the first Heisman winner in program history, Kenneth Walker III, submit his worst performance of the season in the loss while C.J. Stroud likely took control of the race for the award. All told, it was a highly forgettable day for the faithful in East Lansing.