Ohio State and Miami both tumbled down the Associated Press Top 25 poll following a wild Week 14 in college football.

The Buckeyes dropped from second to seventh after losing their fourth straight meeting with Michigan. The Hurricanes slipped out of the Top 10 and sit in 14th following their second defeat in three weeks.

Week 15 AP Top 25 Poll

1. Oregon

2. Texas

3. Penn State

4. Notre Dame

5. Georgia

6. Tennessee

7. Ohio State

8. SMU

9. Indiana

10. Boise State

11. Alabama

12. Arizona State

13. South Carolina

14. Miami

15. Ole Miss

16. Iowa State

17. BYU

18. Clemson

19. UNLV

20. Colorado

21. Illinois

22. Missouri

23. Syracuse

24. Army

25. Memphis

This should've been the year for Ohio State head coach Ryan Day to exorcise some demons. Jim Harbaugh was no longer at Michigan. The Buckeyes were ranked second in the country. This is the worst Wolverines team in about a decade.

Instead, Day put together a coaching performance that may have ensured this was his last Michigan game.

Ohio State lost despite holding the Wolverines to 235 yards of offense and forcing two turnovers, including an interception at the goal line.

Yet again, the Buckeyes got pushed around up front by the Wolverines on both sides. Kalel Mullings carried the ball 32 times for 116 yards and a touchdown, while OSU's star tandem of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson combined for 67 yards on 22 touches.

The 13-10 loss reinforced the longstanding concerns about Day's coaching in big games, the Michigan rivalry in particular.

Then there was the on-field scuffle between the two teams after the final whistle. Day watching everything unfold from afar and asking "what happened?" made for a terrible look.

Day has 63 wins across his six full seasons as head coach, and Ohio State has been a mainstay in the College Football Playoff. He may have reached a point, however, where there's nothing the Buckeyes can do in this year's playoff to overcome what happened in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.

Miami fans might feel like they're watching a similar arc play out with head coach Mario Cristobal.

The Hurricanes allowed 42 points and 482 total yards to Syracuse, and Cristobal's management of a late-game situation left everyone scratching their heads.

Miami played it safe on a 4th-and-goal from the Syracuse 10-yard line with a little less than four minutes on the clock. Andres Borregales connected on a 27-yard field goal to bring the 'Canes to within four points.

The trouble with that approach was it required the Miami defense, which had been carved open all day, to force a change of possession. Syracuse ran out the final 3:42 and the Hurricanes never got the ball back.

The odds of finding the end zone on fourth down from 10 yards out weren't great, but at least then you'd be giving your starting quarterback, who's a Heisman Trophy contender, an opportunity to shine.

Even in the worst-case scenario, you're pretty much in the exact same position as with kicking a field goal. You'd still need to get the ball back and score a touchdown.

Cristobal's consistently bad decision-making in crucial moments dovetails with Miami struggling most often against lesser opponents.

Miami now waits to see how damaging the defeat to Syracuse will be. The Hurricanes not only threw away a shot to compete for an ACC title but also may fall out of the CFP picture entirely. The newest AP poll provides an early preview of how that goes.

Speaking of ACC teams jeopardizing their playoff bid, Clemson now faces a must-win situation in the conference championship against SMU.

The Tigers are now 9-3 on the year after losing 17-13 to South Carolina. LaNorris Sellers' 20-yard touchdown run with 1:08 remaining was the game's decisive moment.

Clemson was narrowly on the periphery in the playoff bracket based on the Week 14 rankings. It was the first team out despite being 12th in the selection committee's view.

Now, everyone knows the Tigers are no longer the bubble and have to beat SMU this Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

South Carolina, meanwhile, will be the most fascinating school to watch with an eye toward the next CFP rankings.

No three-loss team should feel assured of a playoff berth and the Gamecocks' defeats to LSU and Ole Miss haven't aged that well. Still, Shane Beamer's squad is riding a six-game winning streak and has a case to make the cut after beating Clemson and with Miami going down.