LUKE FICKELL

Top-ranked Alabama is headed to another national championship game.

With Ridder and former Alabama running back Jerome Ford, Cincinnati (13-0) is the only team to win every game this season. “We had a nice season, undefeated season ... (we) need to be us and do what we do. “As a football team, we feel like we’ve earned our way here. We feel like and know we belong here,” said Denbrock, in his fifth season at Cincinnati after coming from Notre Dame. “This group of seniors, and this football team in particular, did everything that people asked them to do to get to this point.”___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.

The biggest game week in Cincinnati history has arrived.

Saban said Sunday there were no known COVID-19 issues among players and that the affected coaches were doing well back in Tuscaloosa. O’Brien and Marrone will participate in meetings and practice via Zoom until they can join the team before Friday’s game against fourth-ranked Cincinnati. They are 13 ½-point underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, against the defending national champion that has won six titles under Saban. If a team is unavailable, the game would be forfeited with the available team advancing to the championship. The coach said players are wearing masks and social distancing in meetings.

ARLINGTON, Texas — (AP) — Cincinnati is the first outsider to make the College Football Playoff. The two will meet in a semifinal game deep in the heart of Texas on New Year's Eve in the Cotton Bowl. Top-seeded Alabama (12-1) is making its seventh appearance in the eight seasons of the four-team format and will play its 12th playoff game. 3 seed and will play Big Ten champion Michigan in the Orange Bowl, the other playoff semifinal. This will be the third CFP semifinal game Alabama will play inside AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, after winning the first two during national championship seasons.

Cincinnati is the first outsider to make the College Football Playoff and Alabama is the standard bearer.

Jerome Ford rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns and Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes as No. 3 Cincinnati broke open a close game in the third quarter and rolled past No. 16 Houston 35-20 in the American Athletic Conference championship game.

Dan Wolken believes the current system for poaching and acquiring college football head coaches is broken and only going to get more chaotic if the CFP decides to expand.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick says he won’t be rushed into finding a replacement for football coach Brian Kelly no matter where the team is going in the postseason.

Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown passes and No. 4 Cincinnati completed a perfect regular season by beating East Carolina 35-13.

Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown passes to break the Cincinnati career record and ran for a score to help the No. 2 Bearcats beat South Florida 45-28 on Friday night.

Tulsa Cincinnati Football Cincinnati defensive lineman Jabari Taylor (90) celebrates after securing a fumble in the end zone during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Tulsa Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Cincinnati. 2 Cincinnati held off Tulsa 28-20 on Saturday. “It's about winning against a team that is a much better football team than their record shows.”Shamari Brooks ran for 132 yards for Tulsa (3-6, 2-3), and Anthony Watkins added 105. When Tulsa was stopped short on fourth down at the 4, it appeared the Bearcats would just run out the clock. Cincinnati outgained Tulsa 165-36 in the first quarter but was outgained 120-66 in the second.

Tulsa’s Steven Anderson fumbled as he was reaching for the goal line on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Jabari Taylor recovered for a touchback and No. 2 Cincinnati held off Tulsa 28-20.

Desmond Ridder twice connected with tight end Josh Whyle for touchdowns and No. 2 Cincinnati remained unbeaten with a 31-12 victory over struggling Tulane.

Jerome Ford rushed for a career-high 189 yards and four touchdowns to help No. 3 Cincinnati roll past UCF 56-21.

No. 3 Cincinnati will try to show it belongs among the nation's elite teams.

We're checking the temperature of the USC football coaching search. Penn State's James Franklin is considered a top candidate. Urban Meyer still isn't.

Cincinnati Indiana Football Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder (9) celebrates as he runs off the field following an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, in Bloomington, Ind. 12 Notre Dame as they aim to break up the Power Five's monopoly on College Football Playoff bids. Especially in a season when some of the usual superpowers in college football have looked less than super. “We’re going into the Big 12 in a couple years, but this can solidify us as a top-10 program.”___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP's college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.

No. 8 Cincinnati took one small step toward playoff contention by rallying to beat Indiana.

Alabama looked beatable.

Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell spent this week preparing his team to hit the road. “For us to play a really, really, really good Indiana team that we’ve been talking about since the summer and then you throw the road changeup and the crowd, it's something we haven't experienced in a year and a half." Quarterback Desmond Ridder, last season's American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, quickly explained on Twitter his coach wasn't going anywhere.

The Big 12 says BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston have been invited to join.

Tennessee State has hired former NFL running back Eddie George as football coach.

Georgia place kicker Jack Podlesny, offensive player of the game, stands with Georgia head coach Kirby Smart after the Peach Bowl NCAA college football game against Cincinnati, Friday, Jan. 1, 2021, in Atlanta. 6 Cincinnati its only loss of the season with a dramatic 24-21 victory in the Peach Bowl. Daniels, a Southern California transfer, passed for 392 yards while improving to a perfect 4-0 in four starts for Georgia. Podlesny’s winning kick tied a Peach Bowl record for longest field goal and gave Georgia a 22-21 lead. “I would feel much better if we just played our best game,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.

Cincinnati wide receiver Michael Young Jr. holds the ball up as he scores a touchdown during the first half of the team's NCAA college football game against East Carolina, Friday, Nov. 13, 2020, in Cincinnati. 7 Cincinnati rout East Carolina 55-17 on Friday night. The preparation has been good.”In Cincinnati's three-point victory at East Carolina last year, the Pirates scored 43 points and piled up 638 yards. “Desmond Ridder is a talented quarterback," East Carolina coach Mike Houston said. After punting on three of its first four possessions, East Carolina (1-6, 1-5) drove 58 yards in three plays, pulling to 14-7 on Keaton Mitchell's 18-yard run.

8 Cincinnati's game at Tulsa on Saturday has been postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests among Bearcats players. The American Athletic Conference announced Thursday, Oct. 15, the game is being rescheduled for Dec. 5. 8 Cincinnati’s game at Tulsa on Saturday has been postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests among Bearcats players. Tulsa has had three games postponed, including its opener against Oklahoma State, which it was able to make up. “I’m disappointed, first, for our football student-athletes and coaches, and obviously for our staff who has prepared so diligently, our campus and the city of Tulsa," Tulsa athletic director Rick Dickson said.