AP College Football Poll 2023-24: Final Top 25 Rankings After CFP Championship

After winning their first national title in 26 years, the Michigan Wolverines were a unanimous No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Michigan received all 61 first-place votes and 1,525 total points to top the rankings. Washington, which lost to the Wolverines in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game 34-13, finished second.

The other two playoff teams—Texas and Alabama—were in the top five, with Georgia sandwiched between them.

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Final 2023-24 AP Top 25 Poll

1. Michigan Wolverines (15-0)

2. Washington Huskies (14-1)

3. Texas Longhorns (12-2)

4. Georgia Bulldogs (13-1)

5. Alabama Crimson Tide (12-2)

T6. Oregon Ducks (12-2)

T6. Florida State Seminoles (13-1)

8. Missouri Tigers (11-2)

9. Mississippi Rebels (11-2)

10. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-2)

11. Arizona Wildcats (10-3)

12. LSU Tigers (10-3)

13. Penn State Nittany Lions (10-3)

14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-3)

15. Oklahoma Sooners (10-3)

16. Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-4)

17. Tennessee Volunteers (9-4)

18. Kansas State Wildcats (9-4)

19. Louisville Cardinals (10-4)

20. Clemson Tigers (9-4)

21. North Carolina State Wolfpack (9-4)

22. SMU Mustangs (11-3)

23. Kansas Jayhawks (9-4)

24. Iowa Hawkeyes (10-4)

25. Liberty Flames (13-1)

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Michigan left no doubt about its standing as the best team in college football this season with an impressive showing in the playoffs.

The Wolverines survived a test from Alabama in the semifinal with a 27-20 win in overtime. They capped off a memorable season with a dominant victory over Washington. The defense held Heisman Trophy finalist Michael Penix Jr. to 255 passing yards with one touchdown and two interceptions on 51 attempts.

This was only the second game all season that Penix threw multiple interceptions. He was only sacked once, but pressure from the Michigan defense forced him out of rhythm all night.

Harbaugh was, unsurprisingly, tight-lipped about his future with the Wolverines amid rumors there is mutual interest between him and NFL teams looking for a head coach.

"I just want to enjoy this," he said. "I just want to enjoy this. I hope you can give me that. Can a guy have that? Does it always have to be what's next? What's the future? Like I said the other day, yeah, I hope to have a future. Hope there's a tomorrow. A day after tomorrow. A next week, a next month, a next year."

Monday's win capped off head coach Jim Harbaugh's vow to carry on the excellent tradition at his alma mater when he was hired in December 2014. The 60-year-old has six 10-win seasons, three consecutive Big Ten titles and now a national title on his resume in nine years at Michigan.

Despite Monday's loss, the Huskies' No. 2 finish in the AP rankings is tied for the best in program history with 1984 and 1991. They won a school-record 14 games and won their first Pac-12 title since 2016.

Georgia is the first team to finish in the top four of the final AP poll that didn't make the College Football Playoff since 2020. The Bulldogs rebounded from their loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game with a 63-3 win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl.