College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 final rankings

Louisiana locked down a spot in the final AP Top 25 for the first time in school history after they prevailed 31-24 against a resilient UTSA team in the First Responder Bowl. The Ragin’ Cajuns finished 10-1 for their second straight season in double digits in the win column. Had Louisiana not lost the chance to avenge their close loss to Coastal Carolina when the Sun Belt championship game was canceled, they could possibly push even higher in the final rankings.

Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas combined for 225 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the Roadrunners, helping Louisiana build up a slight advantage in time of possession. Levi Lewis threw two touchdown passes as he finished 12-of-22 for 146 yards through the air. UTSA actually outgained the Louisiana offense by 20 yards, but the Ragin’ Cajuns defense forced two turnovers to survive a close game against their Conference USA opponent.

Having defeated Iowa State in the season opener, Louisiana has one of the best intersectional victories of the entire season. Yet they will find themselves ranked a handful of spots behind a Cyclones team that they beat head-to-head and that also has two more losses, mainly because pollsters tend to have both a recency bias and favoritism toward Power Five programs. It was still a historic campaign for Billy Napier’s crew in Lafayette.