TAMPA, FL, Sporting Alert – National champion Clemson moves up to No. 1 in the final Associated Press College Football Top 25 rankings Tuesday.
The Tigers (14-1) finished atop the AP rankings after beating the previously undefeated Alabama 35-31 in the college football playoff championship game in Tampa, Fla., on Monday night.
Clemson received all 60 first-place votes from the national media panel for 1,500 points and topped the AP rankings for the first time since the final poll of the 1981 season, the year the Tigers won its AP national title.
The Crimson Tide (14-1), which fell short of becoming just the third team to go wire-to-wire as No. 1 in the AP Top 25 rankings, finished as the No. 2 team in the poll.
Meanwhile, Southern California (10-3), which finished the season with consecutive victories, became the first team to end the term as high as No. 3 with three losses.
Washington, which was beaten by Alabama in the college football playoff semifinal finished No. 4, while Oklahoma rounded out the Top 5.
Ohio State slipped to No. 6 after losing 31-0 to Clemson in the college football playoff semifinal, while Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin and Michigan completed the Top 10.
Oklahoma State, Stanford, LSU, Florida and Western Michigan are No. 11 through No. 15.
The Top 20 is made up of Virginia Tech, Colorado, West Virginia, South Florida and newcomer Miami.
Louisville, Tennessee, Utah, Auburn and San Diego State make up the bottom five teams.
Four new teams joined the rankings, as Miami, Tennessee, Utah and San Diego State replaced Iowa (21), Pittsburgh (22), Temple (23), Nebraska (24).
AP College Football Top 25 Rankings
PO. TEAM REC PTS
1 Clemson(60) 14-1 1500
2 Alabama 14-1 1440
3 USC 10-3 1292
4 Washington 12-2 1277
5 Oklahoma 11-2 1252
6 Ohio State 11-2 1240
7 Penn State 11-3 1130
8 Florida State 10-3 1105
9 Wisconsin 11-3 1032
10 Michigan 10-3 1001
11 Oklahoma State 10-3 920
12 Stanford 10-3 730
13 LSU 8-4 651
14 Florida 9-4 640
15 Western Michigan 13-1 619
16 Virginia Tech 10-4 610
17 Colorado 10-4 585
18 West Virginia 10-3 368
19 South Florida 11-2 358
20 Miami 9-4 338 NR
21 Louisville 9-4 277
22 Tennessee 9-4 253 NR
23 Utah 9-4 222 NR
24 Auburn 8-5 206
25 San Diego State 11-3 113 NR
Dropped from rankings: Iowa 21, Pittsburgh 22, Temple 23, Nebraska 24
Others receiving votes: Kansas State 83, Georgia Tech 47, Nebraska 38, Western Kentucky 32, Air Force 30, Pittsburgh 21, Boise State 19, Iowa 14, Minnesota 12, Tulsa 10, BYU 9, Temple 8, Houston 8, North Carolina 8, Washington State 1, Navy 1
