The College Football Playoff championship game left no doubt who would be ranked at No. 1 with the season now concluded. But to put a final bow on the 2024 campaign, the US LBM Coaches Poll panel weighed in one more time to rank the rest of the playoff and bowl participants.
National champ Ohio State, of course, is the unanimous top-ranked finisher claiming all 53 first-place votes. Runner-up Notre Dame finishes at No. 2, picking up all but one of the No. 2 votes.
Texas at No. 3 heads the non-finalists. Oregon, ranked first heading into the playoff, will finish fourth just four poll points ahead of No. 5 Penn State. Georgia finishes sixth, followed by Big 12 champ Arizona State at No. 7. Tennessee, Boise State and Indiana round out the top 10 with ACC finalists Clemson and SMU bringing up the rear in the playoff field in a tie for 11th.
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Mississippi at No. 13 is the highest ranked finisher among the non-playoff invitees, followed by No. 14 Brigham Young and No. 15 Iowa State. Illinois checks in at No. 16 ahead of Alabama, which has its lowest final ranking at No. 17 since the 2007 season – Nick Saban’s first in Tuscaloosa – and it’s first finish outside the top 10 since 2010. Miami (Fla.), South Carolina and Missouri close out the top 20.
No. 21 Army ends the season ranked for the first time since 2019, and No. 22 Syracuse has its first Top 25 finish since 2018. No. 23 Memphis and No. 24 UNLV retain their poll spots after bowl victories, and Colorado hangs on to finish at No. 25 after dropping its bowl game.