For the last time this season, the AP top 25 college football rankings are poised to give fans one final glance at what teams finished as the best in the country in what proved a historic season.
Who’s moving up? And who’s moving down?
This isn’t our ranking of the best teams in college football, but our projection for how AP top 25 voters will slot them in the official poll after the national championship.
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25. UNLV. Both of the Rebels’ losses came against eventual College Football Playoff team Boise State, but they beat Cal in the postseason and just got ex-Michigan quarterback Alex Orji as a transfer.
24. Memphis. A victory against Power Four team West Virginia in the bowl game was enough to win 11 games and could be enough to get this Group of Five team in the final rankings.
23. Colorado. One of college football’s most improved teams, Coach Prime led a turnaround from 4-8 last year to a 9-4 finish behind two-way Heisman winner Travis Hunter, but he’s about to lose a ton of that elite talent.
22. Miami. It appeared the Hurricanes were destined for the College Football Playoff, but some late stumbles spoiled those hopes, ending with a loss to Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
21. Syracuse. Kyle McCord took the Orange offense into the stratosphere and first-year coach Fran Brown enjoyed one of the best seasons in the ACC.
20. Missouri. Eli Drinkwitz now has two-straight double-digit winning seasons under his belt after the Tigers knocked off Iowa in the Music City Bowl.
19. Army. College football’s top rushing offense propelled the Black Knights to an AAC championship, but a loss to Navy derailed things somewhat at the end of the season.
18. South Carolina. AP top 25 voters might dock the Gamecocks a few spots after losing to Illinois in the bowl game, but they still had a solid six-game win streak this year.
17. Alabama. Losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma and then to underdog Michigan in the bowl have Kalen DeBoer looking for answers as the Tide went 9-4 in his debut.
16. Illinois. Luke Altymer will be back under for the Illini next year, as will more than two dozen other starters for a team that went 10-3 and beat an SEC opponent in the postseason.
15. Iowa State. If not for an ugly showing in the Big 12 title game, the Cyclones could have potentially made some noise in the playoff, but they finished by beating Miami.
14. BYU. One of college football’s last undefeated teams late in the year, two losses ended the Cougars’ playoff ambitions, but they beat Colorado in the bowl to finish 11-2.
13. SMU. While the Mustangs won 11 games in their inaugural ACC campaign, they got clobbered by Penn State in the first round College Football Playoff game.
12. Clemson. Dabo Swinney’s team won the ACC title against those Mustangs, but didn’t have enough against Texas in the CFP first round matchup.
11. Ole Miss. It seemed like the Rebels were in line for the playoff before a surprise loss at Florida late in the year, but they rebounded to smack Duke around in the Gator Bowl.
10. Tennessee. Josh Heupel led the Vols to their first College Football Playoff game, even if it didn’t last long after a 42-17 loss at Ohio State in the first round.
9. Indiana. No other Hoosiers team was more productive than Curt Cignetti’s in his first go-round as head coach, winning 11 games and making the playoff, losing to Notre Dame in the first round, but playing some of the country’s best offense in the process.
8. Arizona State. Maybe no team in college football had a better reversal, coming off a 3-win year by going 11-2 and claiming the Big 12 title in its first season in the conference, and played tough against Texas in the quarterfinal round.
7. Boise State. Ashton Jeanty came so close to breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season record for rushing, enough to get the Broncos into the playoff, but not enough to get past Penn State.
6. Georgia. Carson Beck wasn’t his 2023 self in 2024, but he still did just enough to get the Bulldogs to an SEC championship, but his injury-induced absence played a role in the team not playing its A-game in a quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame.
5. Penn State. James Franklin took at least some air out of the argument that he can’t win big games by starting 2-0 in the College Football Playoff, but the Nittany Lions lost a lead against the Irish in the semifinal game.
4. Texas. If not for a strip-and-score touchdown after Quinn Ewers fumbled with the Longhorns on the goal line, who knows if they could’ve tied Ohio State in the semifinal game. But they didn’t, and Ewers is headed to the NFL, leaving Steve Sarkisian with former No. 1 recruit Arch Manning poised to finally embrace the QB1 role in 2025.
3. Oregon. College football’s only undefeated team when the postseason began, the Ducks won the Big Ten title in their first year in the league, but had no answers for Ohio State in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal playoff game, losing that rematch by 20 points on New Year’s Day.
2. Notre Dame. We project the Fighting Irish will fall to the Buckeyes in the national championship game, but there is no denying Marcus Freeman has this program on its strongest footing in some time.
1. Ohio State. Our projected national champion, the Buckeyes proved the most dominant team in the College Football Playoff, leaving Ryan Day in a much better position than he was back in November.
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