USA Today Coach’s Poll: Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame Finish On Top

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

The final college football rankings of the seasons are rolling in and as expected, Alabama is king of the college football world. However, that was a foregone conclusion after the Crimson Tide bashed in the Irish in the BCS championship game, but outside of the Tide the fun is in seeing how the rest of the rankings stack up.

Oregon has taken a leap into the No. 2 spot after winning the Fiesta Bowl over Kansas State in pretty convincing fashion. Ohio State is expected to finish high in the AP Top 25, but they are nowhere to be seen in the USA Today Coach’s Poll that honor’s only bowl eligible programs. Because of the Buckeye’s absence in USA Today’s poll the Notre Dame Irish only fall to No. 3 and the Georgia Bulldogs pull in at No. 4.

Johnny Football and the Aggies sit alone in the No. 5 spot according to USA Today while Florida, the only SEC team to lose their major bowl game dropped to No. 10 while LSU — who lost the much less meaningful Chick-fil-A Bowl to Clemson– dropped to No. 12.

Three teams that did not previously rank in the USA Today poll as Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and Tulsa all cracked the rankings to finish the season. One team that is notably absent is USC, who started the season in the Top 3 of the Coach’s Poll and fell completely out of the rankings at season’s end.

While this is the final USA Today Coach’s Poll of the 2012 season, fans are already looking ahead 8 months to see what the 2013 preseason poll will look like and what their favorite school’s road to the BCS Championship looks like.

FINAL USA TODAY COACH’S POLL

RANKTEAMRECORDPOINTSFIRST PLACE VOTESPREVIOUS RANK
1

Alabama

13-11400562
2

Oregon

12-1132203
3

Notre Dame

12-1125301
4

Georgia

12-2121305
5

Texas A&M

11-2117109
6

Stanford

12-2116708
7

South Carolina

11-21064010
8

Florida St.

12-2942012
9

Clemson

11-2916013
10

Florida

11-288604
11

Kansas St.

11-284106
12

LSU

10-377507
13

Louisville

11-2772018
14

Boise St.

11-2633015
15

Oklahoma

10-3600011
16

Northwestern

10-3580017
17

Utah State

11-2444020
18

Texas

9-4398025
19

Oregon St.

9-4366014
20

Vanderbilt

9-42480NR
21

San Jose St.

11-2244024
22

Cincinnati

10-31860NR
23

Nebraska

10-4175021
24

Northern Illinois

12-2156016
25

Tulsa

11-31100NR

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