College Football Rankings 2018: Final post-bowl AP Top 25 projections
By Zach Bigalke
20. Northwestern Wildcats (9-5)
Northwestern will leap up from the land of Others Receiving Votes after the attrition of bowl season. The Wildcats took down then-No. 20 Utah 31-20 in a Holiday Bowl battle of Pac-12 and Big Ten runners-up. Clayton Thorson finished his four years at Northwestern with a 21-of-30 performance for 241 passing yards and two scores in the victory, while the defense snatched six Utah turnovers in the statement win.
19. Army Black Knights (11-2)
Army is going to finish the year ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1996 after closing out their first 11-win season in school history. Jeff Monken’s Black Knights dominated Houston in a 70-14 Armed Forces Bowl victory to close out the year. Kelvin Hopkins Jr. closed out his first season as the starting quarterback with 70 passing yards and 170 rushing yards in the blowout, scoring five rushing touchdowns to close out the year ranked No. 7 nationally in ground scores.
18. Fresno State Bulldogs (12-2)
Fresno State won a dozen games thanks to their 31-20 win over Pac-12 South runner-up Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Mountain West champions saw sophomore running back Ronnie Rivers break out for 212 yards and two touchdowns on the ground along with four receptions for another 33 yards. Jeff Tedford‘s Bulldogs became the first squad in school history to win 12 games, passing the 2001 and 2013 teams for the most wins in a season.
17. Texas A&M Aggies (9-4)
Texas A&M wrapped up 2018 with a 52-13 demolition of NC State in the Gator Bowl that pushed the Aggies to nine wins in their first season under Jimbo Fisher. The victory over the Wolfpack marked the fourth straight win to close out the year for Texas A&M, a streak that included a wild 74-72 win over LSU in seven overtimes to slot into second place in the SEC West and a takedown of Conference USA champion UAB.
16. Michigan Wolverines (10-3)
Michigan had a rough postseason, as Florida comprehensively deconstructed the Wolverines in a 41-15 defeat for Jim Harbaugh‘s crew in the Peach Bowl. The severity of the loss will probably give pollsters a reason to send Michigan tumbling down the AP Top 25, landing them somewhere in the mid-teens of the final rankings. Even after ending the year with two losses in a row, Michigan still won 10 games for the third time in four years under Harbaugh.