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ASU ends 2024 highly ranked in AP poll and with expectations set for next year

Jan 21, 2025, 8:35 AM | Updated: 8:39 am

ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham celebrates with players after winning the Big 12 Championship...

Sam Leavitt #10 and head coach Kenny Dillingham of the Arizona State Sun Devils embrace after defeating the Iowa State Cyclones in the Big 12 Championship game at AT&T Stadium on December 07, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

The final top 25 poll from The Associated Press ranks the Arizona State Sun Devils No. 7 in the country.

ASU football, which won the Big 12 championship for the 2024 season, closed 11-3 and with its highest final AP ranking since the 1996 Rose Bowl team was No. 4.

The poll was released early Tuesday after Ohio State defeated Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff title game on Monday night.

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham in his second season on the job saw his team flip the script after being picked by Big 12 media in the preseason to finish last in the 16-team conference.

ASU started the year 5-2 before running off six straight wins — five to make the conference title game and the sixth a dominating 45-19 victory over then-No. 16 Iowa State to claim the Big 12.

It earned the Sun Devils a bye in the first 12-team CFP expanded playoff. In the Peach Bowl, a quarterfinal game, ASU rallied by fell short against Texas, 39-31, in double overtime.

Four Big 12 teams closed the season in the top 25: ASU (7),  BYU (13), Iowa State (15) and Colorado (25).

— Kevin Zimmerman

ASU lands in final AP college football rankings of 2024

Record Pts Prv
1. Ohio St. (56) 14-2 1400 6
2. Notre Dame 14-2 1342 3
3. Oregon 13-1 1255 1
4. Texas 13-3 1211 4
5. Penn St. 13-3 1203 5
6. Georgia 11-3 1141 2
7. Arizona St. 11-3 1041 10
8. Boise St. 12-2 958 8
9. Tennessee 10-3 945 7
10. Indiana 11-2 906 9
11. Mississippi 10-3 780 16
12. SMU 11-3 721 13
13. BYU 11-2 718 17
14. Clemson 10-4 712 12
15. Iowa St. 11-3 594 18
16. Illinois 10-3 533 21
17. Alabama 9-4 415 11
18. Miami 10-3 411 15
19. South Carolina 9-4 405 14
20. Syracuse 10-3 320 22
21. Army 12-2 307 19
22. Missouri 10-3 266 23
23. UNLV 11-3 178 24
24. Memphis 11-2 154 25
25. Colorado 9-4 79 20

Others receiving votes: Navy 55, LSU 39, Louisville 38, Michigan 36, Kansas St. 11, Marshall 8, Ohio 8, Florida 7, TCU 2, Texas A&M 1.

Who’s at the top of the final AP rankings?

The Associated Press — Ohio State was No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 college football poll of the season Tuesday after beating Notre Dame for its first national championship since 2014.

The Buckeyes (14-2) received every first-place vote following their mostly dominant run through the College Football Playoff. The Irish (14-2) finished No. 2 for their highest end-of-season ranking since 1993.

Oregon (13-1), which had been No. 1 in eight straight polls entering the playoff, lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal and finished No. 3. The Ducks’ previous high final ranking was No. 2 in 2014.

Texas (13-3) and Penn State (13-3), which both reached the semifinals, rounded out the top five. The Longhorns finished in the top five for a second straight year for the first time since 2008-09. The Nittany Lions ended in the top five for the first time since 2005.

It’s the first time the Big Ten has had three teams in the final top five.

No. 6 Georgia (13-3) was the highest-ranked team that didn’t make the 12-team playoff. The Bulldogs were followed by Arizona State (11-3), Boise State (12-2), Tennessee (10-3) and Indiana (11-2).

Conference breakdown

SEC — 7 (Nos. 4, 6, 9, 11, 17, 19, 22)

Big Ten — 5 (Nos. 1, 3, 5, 10, 16).

ACC — 4 (Nos. 12, 14, 18, 20).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 7, 13, 15, 25).

AAC — 2 (Nos. 21, 24).

Mountain West — 2 (Nos. 8, 23).

Independent — 1 (No. 2).

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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