‘Bama 4th, MSU 11th, Ole Miss 17th in Final AP Poll

By Ralph D. RussoAP College Football Writer

Ohio State is No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll and TCU finished third, in front of two teams that made the playoff ahead of the Horned Frogs.

The Buckeyes finished on top of the AP Top 25 for the fifth time in program history, matching Miami and Southern California for fourth most behind Alabama (nine), Notre Dame (eight) and Oklahoma (seven).

Ohio State beat Oregon 42-20 on Monday night in the first College Football Playoff national championship game and got all 59 first-place votes in the media poll.

The Ducks finished second in the rankings, matching their best finish.

The Horned Frogs, who were left out of the playoff but beat Ole Miss 42-3 in the Peach Bowl, were ranked ahead of No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Florida State. The Tide and Seminoles lost playoff semifinals.

Michigan State tied Florida State for fifth.

Click here for full poll:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings/_/poll/1/seasontype/3

Mississippi State finished 11th in the poll, while Ole Miss came in at 17th.