GARY BARTA

Cincinnati earned its playoff spot at the Cotton Bowl but is being punished with a semifinal date against Alabama. | Opinion

Michigan football will play Georgia with a shot to get to the national championship game on the line.

Michigan moved up to No. 2 in the second-to-last College Football Playoff rankings.

Cincinnati has moved into position to make the College Football Playoff, climbing a spot to fourth behind Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama.

Running back Sincere McCormick ran for 169 yards and a touchdown, quarterback Frank Harris accounted for four total scores, and No. 16 UTSA dominated UTEP on the road to improve to 9-0 on the season.

UTSA head football coach Jeff Traylor trolled the College Football Playoff committee and committee chair Gary Barta after the unbeaten Roadrunners were left out of the initial playoff rankings and Barta referred to the Roadrunners as “USTA.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars say coach Urban Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke were both subpoenaed as part of a federal lawsuit filed in Iowa.

Iowa center Luka Garza walks off the court after an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin, Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa. All rights reservedIOWA CITY, Iowa – It was Senior Day, but Luka Garza didn’t know he was going to have to give a speech. Minutes after the 6-foot-11 star scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds to lead the fifth-ranked Hawkeyes over No. 25 Wisconsin 77-73 Sunday, Iowa athletic director Gary Barta announced Garza’s jersey No. “Those two guys (Garza and Bohannon) were going to make sure we didn’t lose the game,” McCaffery said.

An Orange Bowl spot against North Carolina will be its consolation prize. It will be North Carolina’s first time in the Orange Bowl, and the first meeting between the schools. This will be just the seventh January bowl game for North Carolina. BOWL WINNERSThe Orange Bowl coaches certainly know how to end seasons with victories. WELCOME BACKFor Fisher, it’s a return to a stadium where he’s gone 6-0 — including a pair of Orange Bowl victories.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)COLUMBUS, Ohio – Shortened schedule and all, Ohio State is headed back to the College Football Playoff and a familiar foe will be waiting. Barta, the Iowa athletic director, said “there was no dissension in the room” over putting Ohio State in. Clemson coach Dabo Sweeney said he wasn't surprised Ohio State got in with fewer games “because that’s what the committee has demonstrated over the past few weeks. We all know Ohio State is an incredibly talented team.”The loss to Clemson in the playoff last year landed hard and lingered for the Buckeyes, Ohio State coach Ryan Day said on ESPN. It'll be different this time with less than two weeks between the conference championship game and the semifinal.

Notre Dame was picked Sunday over Texas A&M for the final spot, ending what little drama there had been. Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State have also held the first four spots in the AP Top 25 since Oct. 25. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the second league to have two teams in the playoff, joining the SEC in 2017. After sitting second in the CFP rankings for a month, Notre Dame was blown out 34-10 by Clemson in the ACC championship. Barta said the disparate number of games played by contenders — along with far fewer cross-conference games than usual —- was a challenge for the committee all season.

Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) blows kisses to the stands after a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against LSU in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)For the third straight week, Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State held on to the top four spots in the College Football Playoff rankings. Ohio State is also currently without a game this weekend after Michigan had to cancel because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Ohio State (5-0) might not play enough games to be eligible to play in the Big Ten championship game. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Ohio State (4-0) had to cancel its game at Illinois last week because of a spike in COVID-19 cases in the program. HERBSTREIT APOLOGYESPN's Kirk Herbstreit caused a commotion with some of his analysis regarding Ohio State, Michigan and teams using COVID-19 as an excuse to not play. The Wolverines (2-4) are scheduled to host Maryland this week and play at Ohio State on Dec. 12. “I still think Michigan waves the white flag, potentially avoids playing Ohio State next week,” Herbstreit said. the former Ohio State quarterback said.

FILE - In this Sept. 1, 2018, file photo, Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle walks on the field before an NCAA college football game between Iowa and Northern Illinois, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)IOWA CITY, Iowa Iowa cut ties with strength coach Chris Doyle on Monday, announcing a separation agreement that will pay him more than $1.1 million after former Hawkeyes accused him of mistreating and belittling African American players. The university and I have reached an agreement and it is time to move on from Iowa football. Doyle agreed not to take any legal action against the university, the board of regents or state of Iowa. There are too many racial disparities in the Iowa football program.

Iowa football strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle has been placed on administrative leave after several black former players posted on social media about what they described as systemic racism in the program. None complained directly about his treatment inside the Iowa program. There are too many racial disparities in the Iowa football program. Black players have been treated unfairly for far too long, Daniels wrote. I'll put you back on the streets, Doyle told the teammate, according to Rugamba.