AP Top 25 Week 15: Onto Bowl Season

Championship Weekend in College Football has come and gone, but there was very little chaos on Saturday, leading up to an expected Selection Sunday. Although, Oklahoma State may have been inches away from the CFP in a heartbreaking loss to Baylor in the Big 12 Championship Game.

But for the first time in the College Football Playoff era, Cincinnati becomes the first Group of Five team to make the Final Four. The Bearcats improved to 13-0 with a 35-20 win over Houston in the AAC Championship Game.

Cincinnati will be the No. 4 seed as they will try to become the first non-Power Five team to win a National Championship since BYU in 1984.

The Michigan Wolverines have reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history with a dominating 42-3 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game. With Michigan earning the No. 2 seed, they became the first team to reach the College Football Playoff after starting the season unranked.

And of course, there will be two SEC teams in the College Football Playoff for the second time as Alabama upset Georgia 41-24 in Atlanta.

College Football Playoff schedule on December 31st:

No. 4 Cincinnati vs No. 1 Alabama — 2:30 p.m. CST, Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas (ESPN)

No. 3 Georgia vs No. 2 Michigan — 6:30 p.m. CST, Orange Bowl Miami, Florida (ESPN)

Here is this week’s AP Top 25

1. Alabama (12-1)
2. Michigan (12-1)
3. Georgia (12-1)
4. Cincinnati (13-0)
5. Notre Dame (11-1)
6. Baylor (11-2)
7. Ohio State (10-2)
8. Ole Miss (10-2)
9. Oklahoma State (11-2)
10. Utah (10-3)
11. Michigan State (11-2)
12. BYU (10-2)
13. Pittsburgh (11-2)
14. Oklahoma (10-2)
15. Oregon (10-3)
16. Louisiana-Lafayette (12-1)
17. Iowa (10-3)
18. NC State (9-3)
19. Clemson (9-3)
20. Wake Forest (10-3)
21. Houston (11-2)
22. Arkansas (8-4)
23. Texas A&M (8-4)
24. UTSA (12-1)
25. Kentucky (9-3)

In: UTSA — Conference USA Champions

Out: San Diego State

Others Receiving Votes: Utah State 109, Wisconsin 66, San Diego State 63, Minnesota 38, Purdue 36, Appalachian State 9, Army 7, Mississippi State 4, Penn State 4, Northern Illinois 1

Worth noting: Army, Mizzou’s opponent in the Armed Forces Bowl is only seven spots outside of the Top 25 with seven receiving votes.

Conference Breakdown

SEC: 6

ACC: 4

Big Ten: 4

Big 12: 3

PAC-12: 2

American Athletic: 2

Independents: 2

Sun Belt: 1

Conference USA: 1

Top 25 match ups for other bowl games

Alamo Bowl December 29th: No. 15 Oregon vs No. 14 Oklahoma — 8:15 p.m. CST in San Antionio, Texas (ESPN)

Peach Bowl December 30th: No. 11 Michigan State vs No. 13 Pittsburgh — 6:00 p.m. CST in Atlanta, Georgia (ESPN)

Gator Bowl December 31st: No. 20 Wake Forest vs No. 23 Texas A&M — 10:00 a.m. CST in Jacksonville, Florida (ESPN)

Fiesta Bowl January 1st: No. 5 Notre Dame vs No. 9 Oklahoma State — 12:00 p.m. CST in Glendale, Arizona (ESPN)

Citrus Bowl January 1st: No. 17 Iowa vs No. 25 Kentucky — 12:00 p.m. CST in Orlando, Florida (ABC)

Rose Bowl January 1st: No. 7 Ohio State vs No. 10 Utah — 4:00 p.m. CST in Pasadena, California (ESPN)

Sugar Bowl January 1st: No. 6 Baylor vs No. 8 Ole Miss — 7:45 p.m. CST in New Orleans, Louisiana (ESPN)