Projected final 2020 College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings after Week 16

Cincinnati has been punished by the College Football Playoff selection committee over the past few weeks. Moved down two spots because they could not play due to COVID-19 issues, the Bearcats were punished for inaction in a way no Power Five team in the top ten has experienced on a similar scale or as consistently. Luke Fickell’s team will be stuck at No. 9 in the final College Football Playoff Top 25 after they didn’t earn the AAC title by a bigger margin than a 27-24 victory over No. 23 Tulsa.

Desmond Ridder did a bit of everything for the Bearcats offense in victory. Ridder threw for 269 yards and a touchdown pass as he completed 19 of his 29 attempts. Ridder also ran for 83 yards and one score on 16 carries, showcasing all the skills that earned him AAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. Jerome Ford busted off a 42-yard touchdown run to open the scoring, and Cincinnati’s secondary picked off Zach Smith twice to help secure the win.

While Cincinnati will be completely overlooked by the selection committee for a spot in the College Football Playoff in favor of multiple teams with losses, the Bearcats are effectively guaranteed a spot in the New Year’s Six at this point as an undefeated AAC champion. Cincinnati also lucked out that the Sun Belt championship game could not be played, preventing Coastal Carolina from making a final statement after their close call against Troy. They will almost certainly be headed to the Peach Bowl.