AP Top 25: Alabama drops, Miami moves up after conference championship games
By David Wasson
Published:
The final Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday before the College Football Playoff field is set saw Indiana become the undisputed No. 1 team in the country for the first time in school history, but what happened in the bottom half of the Top 10 could prove even more interesting.
Miami leapfrogged Alabama to move up to No. 10 in the media poll, with Miami moving down to No. 11. That is especially notable in that the Hurricanes are vying with the Crimson Tide for 1 of the final at-large berths in the College Football Playoff field set to be released Sunday (noon ET, ESPN).
Miami finished the regular season 10-2, but did not qualify for the ACC Championship Game. Alabama also finished 10-2 and was the top seed in the SEC Championship Game, but the Tide lost 28-7 to Georgia in that matchup Saturday.
The Bulldogs moved up to No. 2 in the AP poll, with Ohio State falling to No. 3 after the Hoosiers defeated them 13-10 in the Big Ten title game. Texas Tech, which won the Big 12 crown, is No. 4 in the AP poll, followed by Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.
AP Top 25 for Week 16
First-place votes in parentheses
- Indiana (66)
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Texas Tech
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Notre Dame
- Miami
- Alabama
- BYU
- Vanderbilt
- Texas
- Utah
- USC
- Tulane
- Michigan
- James Madison
- Virginia
- Arizona
- Navy
- North Texas
- Georgia Tech
- Missouri
Others receiving votes: Houston 82, Iowa 74, Tennessee 61, New Mexico 21, Duke 18, Boise St. 16, UNLV 10, South Florida 10, SMU 8, Arizona St. 6, Louisville 6, UConn 5, Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3, Kennesaw St 3, Illinois 2, Iowa St. 2, W. Michigan 1, TCU 1.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
