The final AP Top 25 of the regular season has Oregon (13-0) as the unanimous No. 1 team, followed closely by Georgia (10-2), who finished the preseason as the top-ranked team and won the SEC championship in overtime.
Georgia’s win over Texas was enough to put it at No. 2, just ahead of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish jumped four spots to No. 3, their highest ranking this season, after beating Penn State 45-37.
Alabama stayed at No. 11 despite not reaching the SEC championship game, while SMU dropped four spots to No. 12 after losing the ACC title to Clemson on a walk-off field goal.
The AP poll rankings have Alabama one spot behind SMU and just ahead of Clemson, with Oregon leading the way as the only unbeaten team in the FBS.
Matt Brown, an AP Top 25 voter, explained his reasoning for his top 10 teams. He believes that some teams are closely bunched but emphasized that he is close to the consensus rankings.
The selection committee will now reveal their final College Football Playoff rankings, which could determine whether SMU or Alabama earns one of the 12 spots in the playoff field.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5978100/2024/12/08/ap-top-25-rankings-playoff-alabama-smu