By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
The Alabama Crimson Tide finished in the top spot of the Associated Press Poll for the 10th time in school history. The Crimson Tide defeated the Clemson Tigers, 45-40, in the College Football Playoff National Championship game last night at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
It was the 50th game between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. The Tide used strong performances from seniors Jake Coker and O.J. Howard in the fourth quarter, as they outscored the Tigers 24-16 in the fourth quarter – and garnered 61 first-place votes.
The Tigers finished second, and they finished with the same record as the Crimson Tide: 14-1. After the Tigers, the Stanford Cardinal finished as the third team after they dismantled the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Rose Bowl Game – and they’ve jumped from the Fifth position.
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Ohio State also made a jump, as they finished fourth. They were previously seventh before their BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Oklahoma Sooners, who the Tigers defeated in the Capital One Orange Bowl, finished in the fifth position.
Michigan State, who defeated the Crimson Tide in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, finished sixth. The TCU Horned Frogs jumped from 11th position to finish in seventh.
The Houston Cougars, who had the biggest upset in the bowl season over the Florida State Seminoles in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome, finished eighth. The Hawkeyes dropped to ninth and the Ole Miss Rebels rounded out the Top 10.
The Fighting Irish finished 11th, while the Michigan Wolverines, who easily defeated the Florida Gators in their bowl game, finished 12th. The Baylor Bears were 13th, and the Seminoles were 14th.
North Carolina Tar Heels, who were defeated by the Bears in their bowl game, finished 15th. The LSU Tigers, who defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders in their bowl game, were 16th. The Utah Utes, who barely defeated the BYU Cougars in Bronco Mendenhall’s final game after leading big in the first, were 17th.
The Navy Midshipmen, who was the only team to have a home game in the bowl schedule, were 18th after they defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Oregon Ducks dropped to 19th after their triple-overtime loss to the Horned Frogs.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys dropped seven spots to the 20th position following their New Year’s Day loss to the Rebels. The Wisconsin Badgers jumped two spots to 21st after defeating the USC Trojans, 23-21, in the National Funding Holiday Bowl – the final bowl game before the New Year’s Six.
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The Tennessee Volunteers, who rolled over the Northwestern Wildcats, finished 22nd after not being ranked going into the bowl games. The Wildcats finished 23rd – after dropping 11 spots – which was the furthest drop of any team in the rankings.
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers moved up a spot to 24 after their bowl win in the Miami Beach Bowl over former head coach Willie Taggart and the South Florida Bulls. The Florida Gators, who were 19th in the final rankings before the bowl game, finished at 25 following the Wolverines’ blowout win in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl in head coach Jim McElwain’s first year.
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