2014 NCAA Football: Preseason vs. Final AP Top 25 Rankings

The 2014 National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes Started The Season Ranked Fifth

There’s no doubt about it. Ohio State is truly the undisputed 2014 National Champion, winning the first ever College Football Playoffs (CFP) in certain fashion – cutting through Alabama and Oregon for the title.

But who was predicted to win it all way back in August? The AP was calling for a Florida State repeat.

It’s hard to predict the overall season-ending No. 1, and you still have to give the preseason rankings some credit. The top five – minus a poor Oklahoma – are in tact though jumbled, and 16 of the preseason rankers made the final cut.

That also means nine dropped out and nine climbed in, including the early-on, way-underrated TCU Horned Frogs, who went from nowhere to No. 3.

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2014 NCAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON VS. FINAL RANKINGS

PRESEASON 2014 RANKING	TEAM	FINAL 2014 RANKING	FINAL 2014 RECORD	UP OR DOWN?	DIFF.
1.	Florida State (57)	5	13-1	DOWN	-4
2.	Alabama (1)	4	12-2	DOWN	-2
3.	Oregon (1)	2	13-2	UP	+1
4.	Oklahoma (1)	NR	8-5	DOWN	OFF
5.	Ohio State	1 (59)	14-1	UP	+4
6.	Auburn	22	8-5	DOWN	-16
7.	UCLA	10	10-3	DOWN	-3
8.	Michigan State	5	11-2	UP	+3
9.	South Carolina	NR	7-6	DOWN	OFF
10.	Baylor	7	11-2	UP	+3
11.	Stanford	NR	8-5	DOWN	OFF
12.	Georgia	9	10-3	UP	+3
13.	LSU	NR	8-5	DOWN	OFF
14.	Wisconsin	13	11-3	UP	+3
15.	USC	20	9-4	DOWN	-5
16.	Clemson	15	10-3	UP	+1
17.	Notre Dame	NR	8-5	DOWN	OFF
18.	Ole Miss	17	9-4	UP	+1
19.	Arizona State	12	10-3	UP	+7
20.	Kansas State	18	9-4	UP	+2
21.	Texas A&M	NR	8-5	DOWN	OFF
22.	Nebraska	NR	9-4	DOWN	OFF
23.	North Carolina	NR	6-7	DOWN	OFF
24.	Missouri	14	11-3	UP	+10
25.	Washington	NR	8-6	DOWN	OFF

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2014 NCAA FOOTBALL: FROM NOT RANKED TO RANKED

PRESEASON 2014 RANKING	TEAM	FINAL 2014 RANKING	FINAL 2014 RECORD
NR	TCU	3	12-1
NR	Georgia Tech	8	11-3
NR	Mississippi State	11	10-3
NR	Boise State	16	12-2
NR	Arizona	19	10-4
NR	Utah	21	9-4
NR	Marshall	23	13-1
NR	Louisville	24	9-4
NR	Memphis	25	10-3

Photo: ohiostatebuckeyes.com