Bleacher Report

AP College Football Poll 2024-25: Final Top 25 Rankings After CFP Championship

Paul Kasabian

The final Associated Press college football poll for the 2024-25 season has been released after Ohio State's 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in the national championship.

Unsurprisingly, the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish are first and second, followed by Oregon, Texas and Penn State to round out the top five.

Here's a look at the entire poll, beginning with the national champions and ending with Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes.

Final 2024-25 Season Associated Press Poll

1. Ohio State

2. Notre Dame

3. Oregon

4. Texas

5. Penn State

6. Georgia

7. Arizona State

8. Boise State

9. Tennessee

10. Indiana

11. Ole Miss

12. SMU

13. BYU

14. Clemson

15. Iowa State

16. Illinois

17. Alabama

18. Miami (Florida)

19. South Carolina

20. Syracuse

21. Army

22. Missouri

23. UNLV

24. Memphis

25. Colorado

Ohio State finished the year with wins over No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Oregon (41-21 in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals to avenge a 32-31 regular-season loss), No. 4 Texas (28-14 in the CFP semifinals), No. 5 Penn State (20-13 in the regular season), No. 9 Tennessee (42-17 in the CFP first round) and No. 10 Indiana (38-15 in the regular season).

The Buckeyes outscored their opponents 571-206, including 145-75 in the CFP.

This marks Notre Dame's highest finish in the AP poll since 1993 when the Fighting Irish finished second. It was a phenomenal season for Notre Dame, which bounced back strong from a 16-14 home loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7 by rattling off 13 straight wins.

Oregon took the No. 3 spot and rightfully so given that its lone loss was to eventual champion Ohio State in the CFP. The Ducks rolled into the CFP as the No. 1 seed and Big Ten champs after earning a 13-0 record. They had no answers in the Rose Bowl, though, falling behind 34-0 before losing by 20 to the Buckeyes. Still, the future remains bright in Eugene.

Texas was on the doorstep of tying its semifinal game with Ohio State thanks to a 1st-and-goal on the one-yard line with a few minutes remaining, but Buckeyes linebacker Jack Sawyer became a legend in Columbus with his 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown to seal the win.

The Longhorns' first SEC season was a major success, though, with the team finishing 13-3 overall and reaching the conference title game before losing to Georgia. Texas finished first in the SEC standings with a 7-1 record.

Rounding out the top five is Penn State, a team that continues to be on the doorstep of the national title conversation perennially. This year's team fought hard en route to a 13-3 campaign, including an 8-1 mark in Big Ten play during the regular season.

Its only losses were one-score defeats versus Ohio State, Oregon (45-37 in the Big Ten Championship) and Notre Dame (27-24 in the CFP semifinal). This year marks its highest AP poll finish since 2005.

Read 381 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)