Aggies wind up No. 4 in AP poll

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Texas A&Mfinished fourth in the AP Top 25, with Alabama claiming No. 1 for the 11th time Monday night, extending its record by posting the program’s first perfect season since 2009.

The Crimson Tide (13-0) were a unanimous No. 1 in the final poll, getting 61 first-place votes, after beating Ohio State 52-24 in the College Football Playoff championship game.

The Buckeyes (7-1) finished second, followed by Clemson at No. 3 and A&M, finally passing Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish made the playoff but slipped to No. 5 after losing to Alabama in the CFP semifinals.

For the Crimson Tide, it is the sixth national title under coach Nick Saban in the last 12 seasons. No other team has won more than two during that time.

With 11 titles overall — Paul “Bear” Bryant was coach for the other five — Alabama has three more than Notre Dame, which is second with eight.

Big 12 champion Oklahoma finished sixth, Georgia seventh and Cincinnati was eighth.

The Tide, Aggies and Bulldogs gave the Southeastern Conference three teams in the top seven.

Iowa State was nine, with fellow Big 12 members Texas at No. 19 and Oklahoma State at No. 20.

Northwestern, which lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten title game, finished 10th.

The rankings also featured several other non-Power Five conference schools besides Cincinnati — Brigham Young (11), Coastal Carolina (14), LouisianaLafayette (15), Liberty (17), Ball State (23), San Jose State (24) and Buffalo (25).