Ohio State is No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll and TCU finished third, in front of two teams that made the playoff ahead of the Horned Frogs.
The Buckeyes finished on top of the AP Top 25 for the fifth time in program history, matching Miami and Southern California for fourth most behind Alabama (nine), Notre Dame (eight) and Oklahoma (seven).
Ohio State beat Oregon 42-20 on Monday night in the first College Football Playoff national championship game and got all 59 first-place votes in the media poll.
The Ducks finished second in the rankings, matching their best finish.
The Horned Frogs, who were left out of the playoff but beat Mississippi 42-3 in the Peach Bowl, were ranked ahead of No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Florida State. The Tide and Seminoles lost playoff semifinals.
Michigan State tied Florida State for fifth.
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
| Record | Pts | Pv | |
| 1. Ohio St. (59) | 14-1 | 1,475 | 5 |
| 2. Oregon | 13-2 | 1,402 | 3 |
| 3. TCU | 12-1 | 1,349 | 6 |
| 4. Alabama | 12-2 | 1,297 | 1 |
| 5. Florida St. | 13-1 | 1,212 | 2 |
| 5. Michigan St. | 11-2 | 1,212 | 7 |
| 7. Baylor | 11-2 | 1,098 | 4 |
| 8. Georgia Tech | 11-3 | 1,071 | 10 |
| 9. Georgia | 10-3 | 925 | 13 |
| 10. UCLA | 10-3 | 908 | 14 |
| 11. Mississippi St. | 10-3 | 767 | 8 |
| 12. Arizona St. | 10-3 | 756 | 15 |
| 13. Wisconsin | 11-3 | 724 | 17 |
| 14. Missouri | 11-3 | 710 | 16 |
| 15. Clemson | 10-3 | 683 | 18 |
| 16. Boise St. | 12-2 | 653 | 21 |
| 17. Mississippi | 9-4 | 543 | 9 |
| 18. Kansas St. | 9-4 | 509 | 11 |
| 19. Arizona | 10-4 | 499 | 12 |
| 20. Southern Cal | 9-4 | 315 | 24 |
| 21. Utah | 9-4 | 302 | 23 |
| 22. Auburn | 8-5 | 216 | 19 |
| 23. Marshall | 13-1 | 161 | NR |
| 24. Louisville | 9-4 | 116 | 20 |
| 25. Memphis | 10-3 | 94 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Notre Dame 28, Stanford 27, Nebraska 22, Air Force 21, Duke 18, LSU 12, Utah St. 11, Arkansas 10, Minnesota 9, Oklahoma 7, Texas A&M 7, N. Illinois 4, Colorado St. 2.