Perfect Alabama finishes No. 1 in AP Top 25 for 11th time
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Alabama finished No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the 11th time on Monday night, extending its record by finishing with the program’s first perfect season since 2009.
The Crimson Tide was a unanimous No. 1 in the final poll, getting 61 first-place votes, after beating Ohio State 52-24 in the College Football Playoff championship game.
The Buckeyes finished second, followed by Clemson at No. 3 and Texas A&M in fourth, finally passing Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish made the playoff but slipped to No. 4 after losing to Alabama in the semifinals.
For the Crimson Tide, it is the sixth national title under coach Nick Saban in the last 12 seasons. No other team has won more than two during that time. With 11 titles overall — Paul “Bear” Bryant was coach for the other five — Alabama has three more than Notre Dame in second with eight.
Big 12 champion Oklahoma finished sixth, Georgia seventh and Cincinnati was eighth.
The Tide, Aggies and Bulldogs give the Southeastern Conference three teams in the top seven.
Iowa State was at nine and Northwestern finished out the top 10.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 13-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 7-1 | 3 |
| 3 | Clemson | 10-2 | 2 |
| 4 | Texas A&M | 9-1 | 5 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 10-2 | 4 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 9-2 | 8 |
| 7 | Georgia | 8-2 | 11 |
| 8 | Cincinnati | 9-1 | 6 |
| 9 | Iowa State | 9-3 | 12 |
| 10 | Northwestern | 7-2 | 15 |
| 11 | BYU | 11-1 | 13 |
| 12 | Indiana | 6-2 | 7 |
| 13 | Florida | 8-4 | 10 |
| 14 | Coastal Carolina | 11-1 | 9 |
| 15 | Louisiana | 10-1 | 16 |
| 16 | Iowa | 6-2 | 17 |
| 17 | Liberty | 10-1 | 23 |
| 18 | North Carolina | 8-4 | 14 |
| 19 | Texas | 7-3 | 20 |
| 20 | Oklahoma State | 8-3 | NR |
| 21 | USC | 5-1 | 21 |
| 22 | Miami | 8-3 | 18 |
| 23 | Ball State | 7-1 | NR |
| 24 | San Jose State | 7-1 | 19 |
| 25 | Buffalo | 6-1 | NR |
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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