Oregon was the unanimous pick to lead the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the 2024 regular season.

The Ducks collected all 62 first-place votes after beating Penn State 45-37 in the Big Ten championship game. The Nittany Lions slipped two spots to No. 5 with the loss.

Georgia, meanwhile, climbed up into the second spot behind Oregon after beating Georgia, 22-19, for the second time this year.

Week 16 AP Top 25 Poll

1. Oregon

2. Georgia

3. Notre Dame

4. Texas

5. Penn State

6. Ohio State

7. Tennessee

8. Boise State

9. Indiana

10. Arizona State

11. Alabama

12. SMU

13. Clemson

14. South Carolina

15. Miami

16. Ole Miss

17. BYU

18. Iowa State

19. Army

20. Colorado

21. Illinois

22. Syracuse

23. Missouri

24. UNLV

25. Memphis

The most notable choice by the AP voters is ranking Alabama (No. 11) one spot ahead of SMU (No. 12).

The Mustangs had a straightforward path into the College Football Playoff. A win over Clemson on Saturday night would've clinched an ACC title and secured them an automatic playoff berth.

Instead, SMU watched Nolan Hauser nail a 56-yard field goal as time expired and finds itself on the CFP bubble as a result.

Last year, the ACC experienced the biggest snub of the CFP era when 13-0 Florida State couldn't get into the top four. Now, the conference could once again be on the wrong side of a contentious decision by the selection committee.

The new AP poll is a foreboding sign.

Having Alabama at No. 11 in the last CFP rankings—with the team claiming the last playoff place—was already a polarizing call. The Crimson Tide's reputation precedes them and their 41-34 has only aged better. However, they also lost to two teams that finished 6-6 (Vanderbilt and Oklahoma).

SMU, meanwhile, came up short against two Top 25 teams by six combined points.

There's also the message the CFP selection committee would send by vaulting Alabama ahead of the Mustangs. If you're already in the top 12, then competing in the conference championship only works to your detriment.

"It'd be criminal if we're not in," SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said after the ACC title game. "It'd be wrong on so many levels. Not just our team. It'd be wrong to what college football stands for. Our team deserves a chance to be in. It doesn't matter what I say, but it would set a really bad precedent. It would break all the principles of what we've been told. We showed up, and we competed our butts off. We should be in. They know we should be in. So we'll see what happens."

Lashlee and his players might want to start mentally bracing for the worst.