The Associated Press saw the type of season Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs just had and decided that was not good enough in their eyes. Georgia may have won the SEC, finishing the season with a 12-2 mark and another College Football Playoff appearance into the Sugar Bowl, but somehow, some way, it was still not enough to justify putting Georgia into the top five of their final AP Top 25 either...
Here is what the Associated Press decided were the 25 best teams in college football from last year.
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Miami Hurricanes
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Oregon Ducks
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- BYU Cougars
- Texas Longhorns
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Utah Utes
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- Virginia Cavaliers
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Tulane Green Wave
- James Madison Dukes
- USC Trojans
- Michigan Wolverines
- Houston Cougars
- Navy Midshipmen
- North Texas Mean Green
- TCU Horned Frogs
If you want a visual representation of that, On3 has you covered in that regard over on social media.
NEW: Final College Football AP Poll🏈https://t.co/Epkln6DH1C pic.twitter.com/8sbf8M77iR
— On3 (@On3) January 20, 2026
Indiana and Miami were obviously one and two. Nobody should have any issues with that, as Indiana won the College Football Playoff, and No. 10-seeded Miami finished runner-up. Ole Miss, Oregon, and Ohio State rounded out the top five. Georgia came in at No. 6 with Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Alabama and Notre Dame for some stupid reason, rounding out the top 10. There are issues about with all this.
UGA has a bone to pick with the Associated Press here, as the Dawgs got robbed by the AP voters...
Georgia gets a raw deal when it comes to the final AP Top 25 Poll of 2025
We have already said why Indiana and Miami at one and two makes all the sense in the world. It is what it is. Argue with a wall if you do not feel that way. Ole Miss being at No. 3 is justified as well. The Rebels went 13-2 in what was their best season in two generations. They avenged their lone loss of the season to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, before falling to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl with a new coach...
Those three teams all undeniably earned their spot ahead of Georgia. As far as Oregon being at No. 4 and Ohio State being at No. 5, what are we doing here? Oregon lost to Indiana twice, with the second time being a total pantsing. The Ducks got stuffed into a locker for all the world to see. They did not play for a Big Ten title. They finished the year at 13-2 because they got to play JMU and Texas Tech...
While one could argue for the Ducks going further than Georgia in the playoff, there is no reason whatsoever for Ohio State to be ahead of Georgia. The Bulldogs won their league by avenging its lone loss from the regular season to Alabama. Ohio State may have started the year off 12-0, but it lost back-to-back games. They did not win a conference title, they did not win a bowl, they won nothing...
So even though few outside of the southeastern footprint see it or get it, Georgia was the better team over both the Ducks and the Buckeyes this year. Georgia has a Power Two conference championship and they do not. What Ole Miss, Miami, and most certainly Indiana did is far more impressive than what those two Big Ten schools put forth. One could argue that Georgia had the far better season.
Since it really does not matter, we can only hope that Kirby Smart uses this as fuel to the fire for 2026.