College Football Rankings: Projected Top 25, Week 10 – Big 12 gets wild

Cincinnati will remain comfortably in the high teens of the AP Top 25 heading into Week 10 after they stayed on the sidelines and took their second bye on the final weekend of October. The Bearcats have a statement win over UCLA as well as their takedown of UCF to take charge of the AAC East race.

Among Group of Five teams, their 42-0 loss at Ohio State remains the highest-quality loss despite the margin of defeat as the Buckeyes challenge for a College Football Playoff berth. Take out that outlier against Ohio State, and Cincinnati has given up fewer than 17 points per game in their six wins to date. Even with quality talent on offense like Desmond Ridder and Michael Warren II, the Bearcats have leaned heavily on their top-shelf defense.

The degree of difficulty ramps up throughout November, with a trip to East Carolina and a home date against UConn preceding the real tests. South Florida is always a tough out in Tampa, and the Bearcats close out the month with Temple at home and Memphis on the road. If they keep winning, Cincinnati will set up a showdown between Top 25 division winners in the AAC championship game.