The final AP Top 25 Poll of the 2025 college football regular season confirmed a landscape dominated by the Big Ten, yet simultaneously highlighted the significant philosophical split between the media poll and the official College Football Playoff (CFP) committee rankings. The poll locked in the highly anticipated matchup between two undefeated titans: No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana for the Big Ten Championship, with both teams occupying the top two spots for the first time in their respective histories. While the top half of the poll provided a clean narrative, the middle and lower tiers reflected the intense, late-season chaos—with several teams, including Texas A&M and Ole Miss, climbing the ranks following decisive rivalry wins. This final tally set the definitive stage for the selection committee’s ultimate judgment, framing the crucial debate over who earned the coveted first-round byes in the expanded 12-team playoff.
Ohio State and Indiana: The Unbreakable Top Two
The most striking feature of the final AP Poll was the unprecedented Big Ten dominance at the very top, creating a historic pairing for the conference championship.
Both the Ohio State Buckeyes (12-0) and the Indiana Hoosiers (12-0) secured their spots as the only remaining undefeated teams in the nation, occupying the top two positions. The unanimous No. 1 ranking for Ohio State was cemented by their decisive victory over arch-rival Michigan, completing their perfect regular season with a signature win. Indiana’s ascension to the No. 2 spot—the highest ranking in program history—is a testament to their sustained excellence and quiet dominance throughout the year. The upcoming Big Ten Championship is not merely a conference title game; it is a battle for the No. 1 overall seed in the CFP and a guaranteed first-round bye, demonstrating the final, undeniable power of the Big Ten Conference in 2025.
The sheer stability of the top two—a rarity in a chaotic season—provided a necessary anchor for the poll, contrasting sharply with the upheaval seen elsewhere in the Top 10.
The SEC’s Tight Squeeze: Texas A&M Climbs, Alabama Waits
The SEC’s final weekend rivalry results led to a critical reshuffling in the AP poll, emphasizing the strength of teams missing the conference title game.
Texas A&M made the most significant leap, climbing to No. 4 in the final rankings after defeating Texas in their rivalry showdown. Their 11-1 record, despite missing the SEC Championship, positioned them perfectly for a high at-large bid in the CFP. Meanwhile, the Alabama Crimson Tide moved up to No. 8 after their crucial Iron Bowl victory, setting up their massive rematch with the Georgia Bulldogs (No. 3) in the SEC Championship. The AP voters clearly rewarded the Aggies’ strong overall season, even as they prepared to watch Alabama and Georgia vie for the conference title.
The poll also highlighted the enduring drama surrounding Ole Miss. Despite the sensationalized departure of head coach Lane Kiffin, the Rebels finished the regular season at No. 6. The AP voters, like the CFP committee, acknowledged the team’s 11-1 record as the primary factor, essentially separating the team’s on-field performance from the off-field coaching chaos.
Contrasting Philosophies: AP vs. CFP Committee
The release of the final AP Poll immediately set up a comparison with the CFP Committee’s yet-to-be-released final rankings, revealing philosophical differences in evaluating similar résumés. The most notable difference in philosophy centers on the valuing of unbeaten records versus strength of schedule. While the AP Poll put two undefeated Big Ten teams at the top, the CFP committee has historically shown a willingness to place a highly ranked one-loss team with a massive victory—such as the Alabama-Georgia winner—above an unbeaten team from a perceived weaker conference. Furthermore, the AP poll’s inclusion of teams like No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 11 LSU near the top of the bubble demonstrated a slightly more conservative approach than the committee, which often rewards late-season performance surges.
Ultimately, the AP Poll serves as the cultural barometer, reflecting the media’s sentiment on which teams had the best regular season, providing a pressure point and talking framework for the much-anticipated final, and official, CFP ranking reveal.
The Race for Playoff Positioning and Automatic Bids
The final AP Top 25 confirmed the crowded nature of the playoff race, particularly in the battle for the four highly sought-after first-round byes.
Beyond the top two, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Oregon, and No. 6 Ole Miss represented the cluster of teams vying for the remaining byes, with the conference championship results being the deciding factor. The poll also highlighted the teams competing for the automatic bids, with the winners of the Big 12 and ACC championships set to determine the final placements. The Big 12 winner between Texas Tech and BYU, along with the AAC Champion (likely Tulane or North Texas), will have their rankings closely scrutinized. The relatively low ranking of the ACC winner suggests a strong possibility that a Group of Five champion could indeed leapfrog them for one of the final four automatic spots, underscoring the high stakes of the upcoming championship games across the Power Five and Group of Five conferences.
