The Associated Press

Ohio State was No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 college football poll of the season Tuesday after beating Notre Dame for its first national championship since 2014.

The Buckeyes (14-2) received every first-place vote following their mostly dominant run through the College Football Playoff. The Irish (14-2) finished No. 2 for their highest end-of-season ranking since 1993.

Oregon (13-1), which had been No. 1 in eight straight polls entering the playoff, lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal and finished No. 3. The Ducks’ previous high final ranking was No. 2 in 2014.

Texas (13-3) and Penn State (13-3), which both reached the semifinals, rounded out the top five. The Longhorns finished in the top five for a second straight year for the first time since 2008-09. The Nittany Lions ended in the top five for the first time since 2005.

It’s the first time the Big Ten has had three teams in the final top five.

No. 6 Georgia (13-3) was followed by Arizona State (11-3), Boise State (12-2), Tennessee (10-3) and Indiana (11-2).

No. 11 Mississippi (10-3), which closed with an impressive Gator Bowl win over Duke, and No. 13 BYU (11-2), which routed Colorado in the Alamo Bowl, were ranked ahead of two playoff teams from the ACC, SMU and Clemson.

SMU (11-3) stayed at No. 12 ahead of No. 14 Clemson (10-4), even though it lost to the Tigers in the ACC championship game and by four touchdowns to Penn State in the first round of the playoff. The Mustangs’ final ranking was their highest since they were eighth in 1984. Clemson, which lost to Texas in the first round, has been ranked in the final poll every year since 2011.

Alabama took the biggest fall, six spots to No. 17. The Crimson Tide dropped two of their last three under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer, including a 19-13 bowl loss to Michigan. The Tide come out of the season with their lowest ranking since Gene Stallings’ 1995 team was No. 21.

Ohio State had its lowest ranking of the season, at No. 7, following its 13-10 loss to 21-point-underdog Michigan on Nov. 30. The Buckeyes went into the playoff No. 6 and played their best ball of the season, beating Tennessee 42-17, Oregon 41-21, Texas 28-14 and Notre Dame 34-23 in the championship game in Atlanta on Tuesday night.

The Buckeyes won their sixth AP national championship. They also won in 1942, 1954, 1968, 2002 and 2014.

Poll points

Ohio State’s five-spot promotion to No. 1 matched the biggest in the final poll. Mississippi and No. 16 Illinois (10-3) also jumped five spots.

The Southeastern Conference’s seven teams in the final Top 25 are the most since 2013.

Big 12 champion Arizona State (11-3) has its highest final ranking since the 1996 Rose Bowl team was No. 4.

Mountain West champion Boise State finished in the top 10 for the first time since 2011.

No. 23 UNLV (11-3), which matched its school record for wins, is ranked at the end of the season for the first time.

No teams that were ranked in the previous poll Dec. 8 were voted out of the Top 25.

Conference call

SEC — 7 (Nos. 4, 6, 9, 11, 17, 19, 22)

Big Ten — 5 (Nos. 1, 3, 5, 10, 16).

ACC — 4 (Nos. 12, 14, 18, 20).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 7, 13, 15, 25).

AAC — 2 (Nos. 21, 24).

Mountain West — 2 (Nos. 8, 23).

Independent — 1 (No. 2).

AP Top 25 Football Poll

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 20, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

Record	Pts	Prv
1. Ohio St. (56)	14-2	1400	6
2. Notre Dame	14-2	1342	3
3. Oregon	13-1	1255	1
4. Texas	13-3	1211	4
5. Penn St.	13-3	1203	5
6. Georgia	11-3	1141	2
7. Arizona St.	11-3	1041	10
8. Boise St.	12-2	958	8
9. Tennessee	10-3	945	7
10. Indiana	11-2	906	9
11. Mississippi	10-3	780	16
12. SMU	11-3	721	12
13. BYU	11-2	718	17
14. Clemson	10-4	712	13
15. Iowa St.	11-3	594	18
16. Illinois	10-3	533	21
17. Alabama	9-4	415	11
18. Miami	10-3	411	15
19. South Carolina	9-4	405	14
20. Syracuse	10-3	320	22
21. Army	12-2	307	19
22. Missouri	10-3	266	23
23. UNLV	11-3	178	24
24. Memphis	11-2	154	25
25. Colorado	9-4	79	20

Others receiving votes: Navy 55, LSU 39, Louisville 38, Michigan 36, Kansas St. 11, Marshall 8, Ohio 8, Florida 7, TCU 2, Texas A&M 1.

USAToday Coaches’ Poll

The Final US LBM Coaches Poll Top 25 with team’s records THROUGH MONDAY in parentheses, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in the last poll and first-place votes received.

1	Ohio State (14-2)	1,325	7	53
2	Notre Dame (14-2)	1,271	3	0
3	Texas (13-3)	1,180	4	0
4	Oregon (13-1)	1,149	1	0
5	Penn State (13-3)	1,145	5	0
6	Georgia (11-3)	1,066	2	0
7	Arizona State (11-3)	986	10	0
8	Tennessee (10-3)	893	6	0
9	Boise State (12-2)	872	8	0
10	Indiana (11-2)	868	9	0
11	SMU (11-3)	741	12	0
11	Clemson (10-4)	741	13	0
13	Mississippi (10-3)	723	15	0
14	Brigham Young (11-2)	601	17	0
15	Iowa State (11-3)	543	19	0
16	Illinois (10-3)	479	21	0
17	Alabama (9-4)	400	11	0
18	Miami (Fla.) (10-3)	393	16	0
19	South Carolina (9-4)	390	14	0
20	Missouri (10-3)	378	20	0
21	Army (12-2)	314	18	0
22	Syracuse (10-3)	236	25	0
23	Memphis (11-2)	174	23	0
24	UNLV (11-3)	149	24	0
25	Colorado (9-4)	56	22	0

Dropped out: None.

Others receiving votes: LSU (9-4) 44; Louisville (9-4) 28; Navy (10-3) 28; Kansas State (9-4) 20; Michigan (8-5) 20; Ohio (11-3) 6; TCU (9-4) 5; Marshall (10-3) 1.