The College Football Playoff selection committee kept the University of Cincinnati Bearcats at No. 5 following their 45-28 win Friday night at South Florida.
The 13-member committee, led by Iowa Director of Athletics Gary Barta, on Tuesday unveiled its latest Top 25 rankings, with the same teams in the top seven.
Recap: Cincinnati defeats South Florida Bulls, 45-28
The committee kept Georgia (10-0) and Alabama (9-1) at No. 1 and No. 2, respectfully, as the two Southeastern Conference powers won easily over the weekend.
Oregon (9-1) and Ohio State (9-1) rounded out the committee's top four.
Michigan (9-1) stayed behind the Bearcats at No. 6 after its 27-17 win Saturday at Penn State.
With previously No. 8-ranked Oklahoma (9-1) losing 27-14 Saturday at Baylor, Cincinnati (10-0, 6-0 American Athletic Conference) is one of only three undefeated teams left in the FBS (Georgia and University of Texas at San Antonio). Oklahoma dropped to No. 13, while the committee ranked UTSA (10-0) at No. 22, one spot higher than last week.
The Bearcats, No. 3 in both the Associated Press Top 25 poll and the USA TODAY Sports AFCA coaches poll, scored 31 unanswered points to build a 31-7 lead in the third quarter Friday at South Florida (2-8, 1-5) but struggled to put the Bulls away.
Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder completed 31 of 39 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Ridder's two touchdown passes gave the fifth-year senior captain a school-record 79 for his career, passing UC quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Gino Guidugli.
The 38-year-old Guidugli, who was the starting quarterback at Cincinnati from 2001-04, has three children, sons, Ryland and Ezra, and daughter, Willow. Guidugli said after the game that he loves Ridder like a third son.
"On the headset, I said, 'Congratulations, man, you're now the all-time touchdown-holder at the University of Cincinnati,' " Guidugli said. "Coach (head coach Luke Fickell) gave him the game ball after the game. It's just something special, man. He's earned that."
Ridder also had 13 carries, 65 yards and a touchdown to help the Bearcats overcome the absence of injured starting running back Jerome Ford. Backup running backs Charles McClelland, Ryan Montgomery and Ethan Wright combined for 143 rushing yards and three scores.
Analysis: Backup running backs shine for Cincinnati Bearcats in road win at South Florida
Cincinnati has two more guaranteed opportunities to impress the committee starting with its final home game of the regular season Saturday against SMU (8-2, 4-2). Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.
The committee will release three more rankings, with its final rankings dropping Dec. 5, the day after the AAC championship game.
