Head coach Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers waits to take the field before the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl between LSU and Central Florida at State Farm Stadium on January 01, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(AP) Clemson finished No. 1 in The Associated Press poll for the third time after routing Alabama in the national championship game.
The Tigers received all 61 first-place votes. The Crimson Tide, which was trying to become just the third team to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country, finished second. Clemson beat Alabama 44-16 in the College Football Playoff national championship Monday night. Clemson also finished No. 1 in 2016 and 1981.
Ohio State finished third. Oklahoma, which lost to Alabama in the Orange Bowl semifinal, was fourth. Notre Dame, which lost to Clemson in the Cotton Bowl semifinal, was fifth.
LSU was sixth and Southeastern Conference rivals Florida and Georgia were tied for seventh.
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