Just as it did in the AP Top 25, the Alabama Crimson Tide started the season on top of the coaches poll and went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the coaches poll. The top four remained unchanged in the final coaches poll of the regular season, with Penn State moving up to No. 5 after winning the Big Ten championship.
Penn State moved up three spots in the coaches poll, jumping Michigan and Oklahoma in addition to Wisconsin. USC and Florida State also moved up two spots to round out the top 10 of the coaches poll. Colorado and Oklahoma State each fell out of the top 10 after losses this weekend.
The Temple Owls cracked the top 25 this week by appearing at No. 24 following an American Athletic Conference championship victory over Navy. No. 14 Western Michigan is the highest-ranked Group of Five school, with USF checking in at No. 22 (despite losing this season to Temple).
Here is the final coaches poll (the least important poll of them all) of the regular season, with Alabama receiving all 58 first-place votes.
- Alabama (58)
- Ohio State
- Clemson
- Washington
- Penn State
- Michigan
- Oklahoma
- Wisconsin
- USC
- Florida State
- Colorado
- West Virginia
- Oklahoma State
- Western Michigan
- Louisville
- Stanford
- Auburn
- Florida
- Virginia Tech
- LSU
- Nebraska
- USF
- Utah
- Temple
- Iowa