SEC Tops AP Poll

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The Southeastern Conference proved its dominance as the nation's top conference as Louisiana State and Georgia finished as the top two teams in the final Associated Press Poll, which was released late Monday night.

The Tigers (12-2) beat Ohio State, 38-24, on Monday at the Louisiana Superdome to win the BCS title for the second time in five years while Georgia (11-2) finished its season with a 31-point rout of then-No. 10 Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day. The SEC has won three of the last five national championships behind LSU and Florida. LSU, which finished the regular season ranked No. 2, earned 60 of the 65 first-place votes and 1,620 points.

Entering the bowl season ranked fourth, Georgia vaulted two spots to No. 2 with three first-place votes and 1,515 points. Southern California finished third after disposing of then-No. 13 Illinois, 49-17, in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans (11-2), who received one first-place vote and 1,500 points, finished the season with 11 wins for a school-record sixth straight season.

Missouri (12-2) claimed the fourth spot with 1,347 points and would have had a shot at the national title if it only could have beaten Oklahoma. Both of the Tigers' losses this season were to the Sooners, including in the Big 12 Conference championship game.

After suffering a second straight blowout loss to an SEC team in the national championship game, Ohio State dropped from first to fifth in the final poll. The Buckeyes fell, 41-14, at the hands of Florida in last year's title game before being routed by LSU on Monday.

West Virginia (11-2), which ended its season with a victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, finished sixth followed by Kansas (12-1), which received the final first-place vote and 1,303 points. The Jayhawks were the highest ranked one-loss team in the poll after defeating Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma (11-3) and Virginia Tech (11-3) finished No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, while Boston College (10-3) and Texas (10-3) tied for the 10th spot.

Tennessee (10-4) starts the second 10 at 12th, followed by Florida (9-4), Brigham Young (11-2) and Auburn (9-4). Arizona State (10-3), Cincinnati (10-3), Michigan (9-4), Hawaii (12-1) and Illinois (9-4) round out the top 20. Clemson (9-4), Texas Tech (9-4), Oregon (9-4), Wisconsin (9-4) and Oregon State (9-4) complete the poll. Virginia (9-4), Boise State (10-3), Arkansas (8-5) and South Florida (9-4) dropped out of the poll after bowl losses.