ATLANTA — Big Ten champion and Cotton Bowl winner Ohio State finished fifth in the final Associated Press college football poll released early Tuesday.
Alabama was voted No. 1 after the Crimson Tide beat Georgia in the national championship game. Unbeaten Central Florida finished sixth.
The Crimson Tide received 57 of 61 first-place votes from the media panel after its 26-23 overtime win on Monday night. UCF received the other four and finished with the best ranking in the history of the program. The Knights are the first bowl-eligible team to finish the season undefeated and not win a national title since TCU in 2010. Ohio State was 12-0 in 2012, but banned from the postseason by the NCAA.
Georgia finished second, its best ranking since 2007, and Oklahoma was third, followed by Clemson and the Buckeyes.
The AP national championship is the 11th for the Crimson Tide, three more than any other school, and fifth under coach Nick Saban since 2009. Saban joins the late Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant as the only coaches with five AP titles.
Alabama is the first preseason No. 1 to finish No. 1 since Southern California in 2004 and the 11th overall. For the fourth time, two teams from the same conference finished Nos. 1 and 2. The last three times it has happened involved Southeastern Conference teams at the top (2007, 2011 and now 2017).
Washington State, which lost to Michigan State 42-17 in the Holiday Bowl, was the only team ranked in the final regular-season poll to fall out of the Top 25 after the bowl season. North Carolina State moved in after beating Arizona State 52-31 in the Sun Bowl and finished No. 23.
The top five in the Amway Coaches Top 25 poll as identical to the final AP vote.
the new spirit mark (logo) for athletics at Ohio State University Slug – OSU Credit: Ohio State University.
http://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2018/01/web1_osufootball.jpgthe new spirit mark (logo) for athletics at Ohio State University Slug – OSU Credit: Ohio State University.
The Associated Press
Final polls
AP Top 25
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press final college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
`Record`Pts`Pv
1. Alabama (57)`13-1`1521`4
2. Georgia`13-2`1454`3
3. Oklahoma`12-2`1374`2
4. Clemson`12-2`1292`1
5. Ohio St.`12-2`1286`5
6. UCF (4)`13-0`1248`10
7. Wisconsin`13-1`1194`6
8. Penn St.`11-2`1120`9
9. TCU`11-3`974`13
10. Auburn`10-4`917`7
11. Notre Dame`10-3`857`14
12. Southern Cal`11-3`839`8
13. Miami`10-3`769`11
14. Oklahoma St.`10-3`758`17
15. Michigan St.`10-3`705`18
16. Washington`10-3`668`12
17. Northwestern`10-3`528`20
18. LSU`9-4`368`16
19. Mississippi St.`9-4`359`24
20. Stanford`9-5`336`15
21. South Florida`10-2`267`23
22. Boise St.`11-3`251`25
23. NC State`9-4`232`NR
24. Virginia Tech`9-4`126`22
25. Memphis`10-3`119`19
Others receiving votes: Washington St. 84, South Carolina 46, Iowa St. 36, Army 33, FAU 32, Troy 14, Fresno St. 13, San Diego St. 3, Iowa 2.
Amway Coaches Top 25 Poll
The final Amway Top 25 football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final records, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, and previous ranking:<
`Record`Pts`Pvs
1. Alabama (62)`13-1`1550`4
2. Georgia`13-2`1485`3
3. Oklahoma`12-2`1414`2
4. Clemson`12-2`1329`1
5. Ohio State`12-2`1304`5
6. Wisconsin`13-1`1223`6
7. UCF`13-0`1202`10
8. Penn State`11-2`1134`9
9. TCU`11-3`1013`13
10. Southern Cal`11-3`904`7
11. Notre Dame`10-3`888`15
12. Auburn`10-4`885`8
13. Miami`10-3`769`11
14. Oklahoma State`10-3`757`17
15. Washington`10-3`706`12
16. Michigan State`10-3`682`19
17. Northwestern`10-3`543`20
18. LSU`9-4`424`14
19. Stanford`9-5`354`16
20. Mississippi State`9-4`349`23
21. South Florida`10-2`285`24
22. Boise State`11-3`242`25
23. N.C. State`9-4`198`—
24. Memphis`10-3`149`18
25. Virginia Tech`9-4`96`22
Others receiving votes: Washington State 71, Troy 40, FAU 35, Fresno State 35, South Carolina 35, Army 25, Iowa State 8, Utah 6, Iowa 3, Wake Forest 3, Appalachian State 2, Ohio 1, San Diego State 1.
