Final AP Top 25 rankings released following CFP national championship

The final AP Poll Top 25 rankings were released following the national championship victory from the Georgia Bulldogs. Kirby Smart and company were ranked No. 1, of course, following the 65-7 beatdown of TCU in the CFP national title game.

As far as who came up right behind them, Michigan and Ohio State rounded out the top four, considering those were the other two playoff teams. The Big Ten and SEC were well represented throughout the entire top 10 as well.

As far as the rest of the top 25, some teams finished much higher than their preseason projections, while others slipped a little. Below is the final top 25 for the 2022-23 season.

1. Georgia (14-0)

2. TCU (13-1)

3. Michigan (13-1)

4. Ohio State (11-2)

5. Alabama (11-2)

6. Tennessee (11-2)

7. Penn State (11-2)

8. Washington (11-2)

9. Tulane (12-2)

10. Utah (10-4)

11. Florida State (10-3)

12. USC (11-3)

13. Clemson (11-3)

14. Kansas State (10-4)

15. Oregon (10-3)

16. LSU (10-4)

17. Oregon State (10-3)

18. Notre Dame (9-4)

19. Troy (12-2)

20. Mississippi State (9-4)

21. UCLA (9-4)

22. Pittsburgh (9-4)

23. South Carolina (8-5)

24. Fresno State (10-4)

25. Texas (8-5)

Georgia will likely be the preseason No. 1 overall team for 2023 after winning its second straight national championship.

“Sometimes it takes a loss to galvanize, put your team in a spot to win. It did that last year. And it didn’t take that. I always tell guys, do you have to take a loss to learn? Why? Like, it doesn’t take that to learn that. This team is special because they didn’t have a flaw,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, who was a part of a 14-0 team at Alabama in 2009, said. “They had two games in which they came back in the fourth quarter, Missouri and Ohio State, with incredible comebacks and led by Stetson and the offense.”

The Bulldogs must replace quarterback Stetson Bennett, who put himself into college football history winning a second straight championship.

“I mean, there’s so many different variables that go in – scheme, players around you,” Bennett said when he asked if he was the best quarterback in school history. “I mean, you know, I’ve been along for three years, we brought back pretty much the entire core of our offense from last year, so we were all clicking. 

“We had a really good offense. It makes me proud of what I’ve accomplished when I hear that because it means I’ve done some things right, but I don’t know if it’s accurate or not. I grew up watching Murray and Stafford and Shock and Greene. And who’s to say? Those dudes were all amazing.”