College Football Rankings 2018: Final post-bowl AP Top 25 projections
By Zach Bigalke
25. Utah State Aggies (11-2)
Utah State will climb back into the final AP Top 25 of the season after their 52-13 drubbing of North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl on the opening day of the postseason. Despite losing head coach Matt Wells to the Texas Tech job, the Aggies made short work of the Mean Green thanks to 359 passing yards and five total touchdowns from quarterback Jordan Love. The Aggies also showcased one of the best defenses among Group of Five teams to get to 11 wins.
24. Boise State Broncos (10-3)
Boise State’s last game is still their overtime loss to Fresno State at home in the Mountain West championship game. The Broncos were still in the AP Top 25 after that loss, as they still had a 10-win season and a division crown. And after the First Responder Bowl was canceled at the Cotton Bowl against Boston College due to inclement weather, pollsters will still keep Bryan Harsin‘s team above the cut line.
23. Cincinnati Bearcats (11-2)
Cincinnati also got to 11 wins in 2018, after taking down Virginia Tech 35-31 on a rainy day in Annapolis at the Military Bowl. The Bearcats will be rewarded with a leap just ahead of Boise State in the AP Top 25. Luke Fickell‘s team took down the Hokies despite losing starting quarterback Desmond Ridder earlier in the game, as Michael Warren II ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns and finished with 462 yards of total offense against Virginia Tech.
22. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-5)
Despite losing to Iowa 27-22 in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day, Mississippi State will remain in the final AP Top 25 of 2018. After taking over for Dan Mullen in Starkville, Joe Moorhead’s first Bulldogs team won largely due to defense rather than offense. In all eight of their wins, Mississippi State held opponents to 13 points or less. And in two of their losses, they still held opponents under 20 points but could not get the support from Nick Fitzgerald and the offense.
21. West Virginia Mountaineers (8-4)
West Virginia dropped their last three games of the season to plummet from as high as No. 7 in the AP Top 25 to a likely spot in the low 20s when the dust settles on the season. The Mountaineers dropped regular-season contests against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma to miss out on the Big 12 championship game, then fell 34-18 to Syracuse in the Camping World Bowl as quarterback Will Grier sat out to preserve his health for the NFL Draft.