News/Commentary

Final FBS Coaches Poll: Buckeyes Unanimous No. 1

January 21, 2025 by AFCA.com

Ohio State claimed the program’s ninth national title by scoring 31 unanswered points in the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game against Notre Dame, then holding of an Irish comeback attempt for a 34-23 win. The Buckeyes finish the season with a 14-2 record and the No. 1 spot in the US LBM Coaches poll.

Ohio State received the first-place vote on all 53 ballots.

Notre Dame scored on a time-consuming opening drive to take its only lead of the game, and Ohio State tied it at 7 on its first possession. The Buckeyes stretched the lead to 31-7 before Notre Dame scored 16 unanswered points on a pair of TD's and 2-point conversions to make it interesting, but an Ohio State field goal with 26 seconds left sealed the win.

Notre Dame comes in at No. 2 with an identical 14-2 record. The Irish had won 13 straight games after an early-season shocking upset loss at home to Northern Illinois, 16-14.

Texas, Oregon and  Penn State round out the top five in the poll.

See: Congrove Computer Rankings (Top 134)

Learn more at AFCA.com.

Rank School (1st votes) Points LW W-L
1 Ohio State (53) 1,325 7 14-2
2 Notre Dame 1,271 3 14-2
3 Texas 1,180 4 13-3
4 Oregon 1,149 1 13-1
5 Penn State 1,145 5 13-3
6 Georgia 1,066 2 11-3
7 Arizona State 986 10 11-3
8 Tennessee 893 6 10-3
9 Boise State 872 8 12-2
10 Indiana 868 9 11-2
11 SMU 741 12 11-3
11 Clemson 741 13 10-4
13 Mississippi 723 15 10-3
14 BYU 601 17 11-2
15 Iowa State 543 19 11-3
16 Illinois 479 21 10-3
17 Alabama 400 11 9-4
18 Miami (Fla.) 393 16 10-3
19 South Carolina 390 14 9-4
20 Missouri 378 20 10-3
21 Army 314 18 12-2
22 Syracuse 236 25 10-3
23 Memphis 174 23 11-2
24 UNLV 149 24 11-3
25 Colorado 56 22 9-4

Dropped Out: None.

Others receiving votes: LSU (9-4) 44; Louisville (9-4) 28; Navy (10-3) 28; Kansas State (9-4) 20; Michigan (8-5) 20; Ohio (11-3) 6; TCU (9-4) 5; Marshall (10-3) 1.

List Of Voters

Tim Albin, Ohio; Major Applewhite, South Alabama; Tim Beck, Coastal Carolina; Mike Bloomgren, Rice; David Braun, Northwestern; Jeff Brohm, Louisville; Fran Brown, Syracuse; Neal Brown, West Virginia; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Bob Chesney, James Madison; Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan; Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech; Spencer Danielson, Boise State; Ryan Day, Ohio State; Kalen DeBoer, Alabama; Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State; Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri; Mike Elko, Texas A&M; Tony Elliott, Virginia; Jedd Fisch, Washington; James Franklin, Penn State; Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame; Willie Fritz, Houston; Alex Golesh, South Florida; Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky; Mike Houston, East Carolina; Butch Jones, Arkansas State; Brent Key, Georgia Tech; GJ Kinne, Texas State; Chris Klieman, Kansas State; Dan Lanning, Oregon; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Clark Lea, Vanderbilt; Lance Leipold, Kansas; Pete Lembo, Buffalo; Sean Lewis, San Diego State; Mike Locksley, Maryland; Mike MacIntyre, Florida International; Gus Malzahn, Central Florida; Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio); Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee; Joey McGuire, Texas Tech; Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico; Jeff Monken, Army; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State; Barry Odom, UNLV; Gerad Parker, Troy; Brent Pry, Virginia Tech; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Mark Stoops, Kentucky; Jon Sumrall, Tulane; Lance Taylor, Western Michigan; Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio.