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College Football Playoff Rankings 2021: Projected Top 25, Week 10

By Connor Muldowney

Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III runs for a touchdown against Michigan during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211030 Msu Michigan 228a
Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III runs for a touchdown against Michigan during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211030 Msu Michigan 228a /
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Cincinnati Bearcats wide receiver Michael Young Jr. (8), left, and quarterback Desmond Ridder celebrate after Ridder ran the ball toward the end zone that set up a touchdown during the 1st half at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans Saturday October 30, 2021.Uc Tulane4wm
Cincinnati Bearcats wide receiver Michael Young Jr. (8), left, and quarterback Desmond Ridder celebrate after Ridder ran the ball toward the end zone that set up a touchdown during the 1st half at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans Saturday October 30, 2021.Uc Tulane4wm /

At some point, Cincinnati is going to have to blow inferior opponents out again. The Bearcats are the best Group of Five team in the country, but for a second straight game, they played down to their opponent, beating Tulane 31-12. That final score is not indicative of how close it really was.

Cincinnati needed to add some style points against Tulane in order to make a case for that No. 2 spot in the first playoff poll, but the Bearcats didn’t do that.

Leading just 14-12 at halftime, the Bearcats scored 17 points in the second half while blaming Tulane to put the game out of reach. It took a touchdown with under five minutes left to really make Cincinnati fans feel comfortable about the win, but it wasn’t pretty.

Desmond Ridder had a solid game but Jerome Ford faded back into the background while the defense did step up.

This is still a game that Cincinnati needs to win by 3-4 touchdowns with ease instead of letting the opponent hang around for three quarters before shutting the door. I see Cincinnati dropping a spot or two in the first playoff poll.

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