Oregon and Georgia, which won their conference championships on Saturday, finished 1-2 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the regular season.
The poll was released just hours before the College Football Playoff selection committee was set to announce the field of 12 teams that will meet in the first-ever expanded playoff.
Oregon, at 13-0 and the only undefeated team in the poll, garnered all 62 first-place votes after its 45-37 win over Penn State in the Big Ten title game. Georgia (11-2) rose three places in the poll after defeating Texas 22-19 in overtime in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Notre Dame (11-1) jumped one spot to No. 3, followed by No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Penn State – both 11-2 – which dropped two places with their losses.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Ohio State (10-2), Tennessee (10-2), Boise State (12-1), Indiana (11-1) and Arizona State (11-2).
Arizona State had not been in the Top 10 since reaching No. 7 in 2014. Before this season, Boise State last reached the Top 10 in 2011.
Each of those Top 10 teams likely will be in the final CFP field, as will Clemson. The Tigers (10-3) defeated SMU (11-2) in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on Saturday to lock up an assured berth – giving the selection committee a tough choice for the at least one remaining spot.
In the Top 25, Alabama (9-3) held on to its No. 11 spot, followed by SMU, Clemson, South Carolina (9-3) and No. 15 Miami (10-2). SMU plunged four spots while Clemson rose five.
The remaining Top 25 teams:
16: Ole Miss (9-3)
17: BYU (10-2)
18: Iowa State (10-3)
19: Army (11-1)
20. Colorado (9-3)
21. Illinois (9-3)
22. Syracuse (9-3)
23. Missouri (9-3)
24. UNLV (10-3)
25. Memphis (10-2)
–Field Level Media
