To the conference champions come the spoils, including an improvement in their final Associated Press poll rankings prior to the release of the College Football Playoff rankings.
The Georgia Bulldogs (11-2, 6-2 SEC) finished off Texas in overtime for a 22-19 victory to claim the Southeastern Conference crown Saturday. The victory bumped the Bulldogs up three spots in the Associated Press poll to No. 2 directly behind unbeaten Big Ten champion Oregon (13-0, 9-0 B1G).
The Ducks remained at the top spot after defeating Penn State 45-37 in Indianapolis on Saturday night to take the Big Ten title in their inaugural season in the conference. The Nittany Lions’ loss moved Penn State down two spots to No. 5. Texas (11-2, 7-1 SEC) also fell two spots, to No. 4. Notre Dame (11-1) was idle on conference championship weekend but moved up one spot to No. 3.
Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 B1G) rose one spot to No. 6, replacing Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) at No. 7 even though neither team played during championship weekend. Mountain West champion Boise State (12-1, 7-0) rose further into the top ten to No. 8 after a 21-7 win over No. 24 UNLV. Indiana (11-1, 8-1 B1G) remained in its No. 9 spot from last week.
The final movement into the top 10 was by Big 12 champion Arizona State (11-2, 7-2) after a 45-19 victory over No. 18 Iowa State to take the conference’s College Football Playoff qualifying bid. The ACC championship ended in a 34-31 walk-off win for now-No. 13 Clemson (10-3, 7-1 ACC). The Tigers still ranked behind No. 12 SMU (11-2, 8-0 ACC) as the Mustangs dropped four spots.
With many teams idle through championship weekend, movement was minimal outside of the top 12 teams in the poll. The SEC had seven ranked programs, including No. 11 Alabama (9-3, 5-3 SEC), No. 14 South Carolina (9-3, 5-3), No. 16 Ole Miss (9-3, 5-3 SEC), and No. 23 Missouri (9-3, 5-3 SEC).
The Big Ten had five ranked teams once again, including No. 21 Illinois. The Big 12 was represented by four programs: champion Arizona State, No. 17 BYU, Iowa State and No. 20 Colorado. Likewise, the ACC featured four teams: Clemson, SMU, No. 15 Miami and No. 22 Syracuse. The non-Power Four ranked programs included Boise State, No. 19 Army, UNLV, and No. 25 Memphis.
The final pairings for the College Football Playoff rankings will be released Sunday afternoon.
Associated Press Top 25
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- Penn State
- Ohio State
- Tennessee
- Boise State
- Indiana
- Arizona State
- Alabama
- SMU
- Clemson
- South Carlolina
- Miami (FL)
- Ole Miss
- BYU
- Iowa State
- Army
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Syracuse
- Missouri
- UNLV
- Memphis
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