College football rankings 2021: Projected Week 14 AP Top 25 after Michigan downs Ohio State, Alabama escapes, Oklahoma collapses in Bedlam

4. Cincinnati Bearcats

For a Cincinnati team that has seen a litany of letdown spots this season and, harrowingly, has come close to letting down in those games, Friday’s trip to Greenville, NC to face a much-improved East Carolina team had to scare Bearcats fans quite a bit. Sandwiched between the high-profile showdown with SMU and the AAC Championship Game, it was a tricky, tricky spot.

Though it was certainly not a wholly dominant effort from Desmond Ridder and his cohorts, Cincinnati didn’t leave fans biting their fingernails quite as badly as they have at other times this season. The contest wasn’t much in doubt and the Bearcats completed a perfect regular season, leaving them still in control of their own playoff destiny as they head into the AAC final against Houston.

3. Alabama Crimson Tide

Point blank, Alabama should be dropping in the AP Top 25 college football rankings. They were down 10-3 in the Iron Bowl after playing as poor of an offensive game as we’ve seen from the Crimson Tide all season and the Tigers had the ball. All they had to do was salt away the clock and, at the very least, not leave Bama enough time.

Instead, Auburn ran out of bounds, didn’t get the first down, and allowed Bryce Young to tie the game. After going to four overtimes, Young found Metchie for the winning two-point try to give the Tide the victory. It keeps them in the No. 3 spot for now but, if they play like they did on Saturday against Georgia, they’re going to be a skid mark left in the Bulldogs’ wake in Atlanta.