Coaches Poll top 25: Ohio State finishes in top five, Oklahoma into top 10 of final college football rankings

Georgia is the unanimous No. 1 after winning the national championship, followed by Alabama at No. 2

By Chip Patterson

Jan 11, 2022 at 2:15 pm ET • 1 min read

The celebration of Georgia's College Football Playoff National Championship win against Alabama continues into Tuesday with the release of the final rankings of the season. The Coaches Poll released its final top 25 rankings, with the Bulldogs as the unanimous No. 1, followed by Alabama at No. 2, Michigan at No. 3 and Cincinnati at No. 4.

While the College Football Playoff participants held down the top four spots, bowl wins provided a boost for several teams within the top 25. Ohio State jumped up two spots to No. 5 after its thrilling Rose Bowl win against Utah, one spot ahead of the Buckeyes' final position in the AP Top 25 poll. The top-five Coaches Poll finish is the third in Ryan Day's three seasons as Ohio State's coach, following a No. 2 ranking last year and No. 3 in 2019.

Oklahoma State and Michigan State also saw two-spot improvements after New Year's Six Bowl wins -- the Cowboys to No. 7 and the Spartans to No. 8, just behind Sugar Bowl Champion Baylor, who remained at No. 6. The biggest move up within the entire top 25 came from Clemson, up six spots to No. 16 after beating Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl. Wake Forest at No. 14. and Kentucky, at No. 15 each moved up five spots to their final poll positions.

The biggest post-bowl drop was BYU, down eight spots to No. 22 after a 31-28 loss to UAB in the Independence Bowl. Iowa and Oregon also took major tumbles in the poll, but not enough to fall all the way out of the top 25.

Check out the Coaches Poll top 25 below: