John Steppe’s final 2024 AP ballot: Which teams climbed, fell after CFP, bowl games

BRUSSELS — Most of my last week has consisted of enjoying some Spanish tapas and Belgian waffles as I finally use some vacation time.

Well, that and pondering where to rank this year’s top 25 college football teams ahead of the release of the final AP Poll of the 2024 season. It has been a pleasure and privilege to be one of this year’s 62 voters, and I hope these articles have added a level of transparency to my ballots.

My final No. 1 and 2 are obvious after Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame in the national championship game. Texas has the No. 3 spot on my final ballot after a 13-3 season that included a whopping six wins over AP-ranked opponents.

Oregon, despite its CFP quarterfinal exit, is No. 4 on my ballot. The Ducks went 13-1 and won the Big Ten — a conference responsible for two of the four CFP semifinalists — in their first year as a member.

Arizona State impressed me with how competitive it was against Texas and consequently rose to No. 7 on my ballot. But I still have Georgia ahead of the Sun Devils due to the Bulldogs’ lack of bad losses.

Tennessee, on the other hand, fell five spots after its rough showing against Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Even with it being against the eventual national champion, the Volunteers were surprisingly uncompetitive. The Vols remain in the top 12 of my ballot, though. After all, it’s not like CFP near-misses Alabama, South Carolina and Miami (Fla.) helped their cases in the bowl season either.

Colorado dropped entirely off my ballot after its 36-14 loss in the Alamo Bowl, which was not even as close as the final score might suggest. The Buffs were blown out despite Heisman winner Travis Hunter and star quarterback Shedeur Sanders participating in the game.

Memphis replaces Colorado on my ballot at No. 25 after its win over West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl. I also considered Navy — the 10-win Midshipmen did defeat Memphis earlier this year — but its 14-point loss to Rice and 35-point loss to Tulane were too much to overlook.

Michigan also was under serious consideration. Yes, the Wolverines had five losses, but three of them were against eventual CFP teams (and another was against 10-win Illinois).

John Steppe’s final 2024 AP ballot

Also under consideration: Michigan, Navy

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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