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

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.