AP Top 25: Ohio State, Notre Dame are 1-2 in final poll; Georgia, Ole Miss, BYU ahead of playoff teams

Ohio State was ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 College Football Poll of the season after beating Notre Dame for its first national championship since 2014.

The Buckeyes (14-2) received every first-place vote after largely dominating the College Football Playoff. The Irish (14-2) finished in No. 2 for their highest postseason finish since 1993.

Oregon (13-1), ranked No. 1 in eight straight polls entering the playoffs, lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl quarterfinals and finished No. 3. The Ducks’ previous high final ranking was No. 2 in 2014.

Texas (13-3) and Penn State (13-3), which advanced to the semifinals, rounded out the top five. The Longhorns finished in the top five for the second straight year, the first time since 2008-09. The Nittany Lions finished in the top five for the first time since 2005.

This is the first time the Big Ten has had three teams in the final five.

No. 6 Georgia (13-3) was the top-ranked team that did not make the 12-team playoff. The Bulldogs were followed by Arizona State (11-3), Boise State (12-2), Tennessee (10-3) and Indiana (11-2).

No. 11 Mississippi (10-3), which capped off an impressive Gator Bowl win over Duke, and No. 13 BYU (11-2), which defeated Colorado in the Alamo Bowl, are ranked ahead of two ACC playoff teams, SMU and Clemson.

SMU (11-3) moved up one spot to No. 12, ahead of No. 14 Clemson (10-4), despite losing to the Tigers in the ACC championship game and by four touchdowns to Penn State in the first round of the playoffs. The Mustangs’ final finish was their highest since 1984 when they finished eighth. Clemson, which lost to Texas in the first round, has been ranked in the final poll every year since 2011.

Alabama saw the biggest drop, six spots to 17th. The Crimson Tide have lost two of their last three under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer, including a 19-13 loss to Michigan. The Tide came out of the season with the lowest ranking since Gene Stallings’ 1995 team was No. 21.

Ohio State had a season-low ranking of No. 7 after a 13-10 loss to Michigan by 21 points on Nov. 30. The Buckeyes entered the playoffs at No. 6 and played their best ball of the season, beating Tennessee 42-17, Oregon 41-21, Texas 28-14 and Notre Dame 34-23 in the championship game in Atlanta.

The Buckeyes won their sixth AP National Championship. They also won in 1942, 1954, 1968, 2002 and 2014.

Poll points

Ohio State’s five-spot promotion to No. 1 matches the most in the final poll. Mississippi and No. 16 Illinois (10-3) also jumped five spots.

Seven Southeastern Conference teams in the Top 25 finals is the most since 2013.

Big 12 champion Arizona State (11-3) has its highest final ranking since the 1996 Rose Bowl team that was No. 4.

Mountain West champion Boise State finished in the top 10 for the first time since 2011.

No. 23 UNLV (11-3), which tied its school record for wins, was ranked for the first time at the end of the season.

No team ranked in the previous Dec. 8 poll was voted out of the Top 25.

Conference call

SEC — 7 (No. 4, 6, 9, 11, 17, 19, 22)

Big Ten — 5 (Nos. 1, 3, 5, 10, 16).

ACC – 4 (No. 12, 14, 18, 20).

Large 12 — 4 (Nos. 7, 13, 15, 25).

AAC—2 (Nos. 21, 24).

Mountain West — 2 (No. 8, 23).

Independent — 1 (No. 2).