Georgia, Tide, Michigan, Cincinnati, Baylor’s Top 25 Finalist – The Morning Sun

By RALPH D. RUSSO

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Georgia was No. 1 in the final Associated Press college football poll of the season after winning its second national championship by beating Alabama.

The Bulldogs received all 61 votes in first place in the poll presented by Regions Bank to become the ninth unanimous No. 1 this season. Georgia’s only other time to finish at number 1 was in 1980 after its first championship.

The Tide finished in 2nd place, giving the Southeast Conference the top two teams in the overall standings for the third time since 2011.

Michigan finished third, the Wolverines’ best final standings since winning the national championship in 1997 and their first top 10 finish since 2006.

No. 4 Cincinnati, the first team from outside the Power Five to make it to the knockout stages, finished with the best final ranking. So does Baylor No. 5; The Bears’ previous best result in an AP poll was 7th place in 2014.

Ohio State is sixth and Oklahoma State is seventh. The Cowboys have had the best record in the polls since they finished third in 2011.

Notre Dame is eighth, Michigan State is ninth and Oklahoma is 10th, giving the Big 12 the top three teams in the top 10.

It was Michigan State’s first top-10 finish since a three-game streak from 2013-15. The two Big Ten schools from Michigan both finished the season in the top 10 for the first time since 1999.

Utah is in 12th place, BYU is 19th, and Wyoming is 24th, marking the first time Beehive State has had all three of its major college teams finish the season ranked.

Clemson finished 14th, beating a six-season streak in which the Tigers were no less than fourth in the Top 25 overall.

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll