The final Honor Roll of the college football season is here. After a great College Football Playoff, Indiana has won its first national championship. Next week, we start college basketball rankings. Here are the final rankings for college football.
Indiana (16-0, 9-0 Big Ten) finished at No. 1 after defeating No. 10 Miami (Fla.) in the national championship game, 27-21. There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright: Fernando Mendoza.
Miami (Fla.) (13-3, 6-2 ACC) finished at No. 2 after an improbable run to the national title game, which just so happened to be at Hard Rock Stadium. After not even making the ACC Championship game, credit Mario Cristobal and his team for making it this far.
Ole Miss (13-2, 7-1 SEC) finished at No. 3 after a heartbreaking ending in the Fiesta Bowl to eventual runner-up Miami in the semifinal round. Trinidad Chambliss was unreal, but the Rebels’ high-profile season ended in the desert.
Oregon (13-2, 8-1 Big Ten) finished at No. 4 after getting crushed in the semifinal round by Indiana. The Ducks will be one of the top teams with quarterback Dante Moore electing to return to Eugene.
Georgia (12-2, 7-1 SEC) finished at No. 5 after a heartbreaking quarterfinal loss to Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. The SEC champions will be back in the mix next season.
Ohio State (12-2, 9-0 Big Ten) finished at No. 6 after a stunning loss in the Cotton Bowl against Miami. In the rankings before the conference championships, I had Ohio State as the top team in the country. Since then, Ohio State lost its last two games of the season. Heartbreaking.
Texas Tech (12-2, 8-1 Big 12) finished at No. 7 after a 23-0 shutout loss to Oregon in the Orange Bowl. However, the Big 12 champions will look back on this season as a success, as no one expected them to be as good as they were.
Alabama (11-4, 7-1 SEC) finished at No. 8 after a 38-3 blowout loss in the Rose Bowl to Indiana. The Crimson Tide could not do anything that day, but who can blame them when Indiana was as elite as I have ever seen?
Texas A&M (11-2, 7-1 SEC) finished at No. 9 after a 10-3 loss at home to Miami in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Aggies lost back-to-back games after starting the season 11-0. Brutal.
Oklahoma (10-3, 6-2 SEC) finished at No. 10 after a 34-24 loss at home to Alabama in the first round. The Sooners were trending in the right direction leading up to that game with a four-game winning streak, three of which came against ranked opponents.
Notre Dame (10-2) finished at No. 11 after just missing the cut for the College Football Playoff. The Fighting Irish were so upset, they elected not to play in a bowl game at all. I would have them lower because of that, but the ranking is not about their decision to play in a bowl game or not.
BYU (12-2, 8-1 Big 12) finished at No. 12 after a 25-21 win over Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. After losing in the Big 12 title game to Texas Tech, the Cougars bounced back.
Texas (10-3, 6-2 SEC) finished at No. 13 after a 41-27 rout over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. Even without nine starters, the Longhorns still managed to beat a team as good as Michigan was this season.
Utah (11-2, 7-2 Big 12) finished at No. 14 after a dominant 44-22 win over Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl. It will be interesting to see the post-Whittingham era.
Virginia (11-3, 7-1 ACC) finished at No. 15 after bouncing back with a 13-7 win over Missouri in the Gator Bowl to finish the season.
Iowa (9-4, 6-3 Big Ten) finished at No. 16 after a 34-27 upset win over Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa.
Tulane (11-3, 7-1 American) finished at No. 17 after a historic season, making the program’s first College Football Playoff. However, Ole Miss decided to send them home early.
James Madison (12-2, 8-0 Sun Belt) finished at No. 18 after exceeding all expectations, making the program’s first College Football Playoff. At least the Dukes held their own for part of their loss at Oregon in the first round.
Houston (10-3, 6-3 Big 12) finished at No. 19 after a 38-35 win in the Texas Bowl over LSU.
North Texas (12-2, 7-1 American) finished at No. 20 after a thrilling 49-47 win over San Diego State in the New Mexico Bowl.
TCU (9-4, 5-4 Big 12) finished at No. 21 after an electric upset win over then-ranked USC, 30-27 in overtime, in the Alamo Bowl.
SMU (9-4, 6-2 ACC) finished at No. 22 after upsetting then-ranked Arizona in the Holiday Bowl, 24-19.
Vanderbilt (10-3, 6-2 SEC) finished at No. 23 after a heartbreaking 34-27 loss to Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl. However, this was a magical season for the Commodores with a Heisman Trophy finalist in quarterback Diego Pavia.
USC (9-4, 7-2 Big Ten) finished at No. 24 after a 30-27 upset loss in overtime to TCU in the Alamo Bowl.
Michigan (9-4, 7-2 Big Ten) finished at No. 25 after a 41-27 blowout loss to Texas in the Citrus Bowl. However, that is the least of the program’s worries right now.