Ohio State finished as the No. 1 team after defeating Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship

The final Associated Press college football Top 25 poll for the 2024 season was released Tuesday morning, hours after Ohio State defeated Notre Dame in the national title game.

By beating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 on a frigid Atlanta night, Ohio State has the right to tell everyone in the country they have the best football team. This was a team that needed a swift kick in the rear end by arch rival Michigan to light the fire inside them we all knew was there all along.

Now that it’s all over and the Ohio State Buckeyes are the college football national champions, it can be definitively said: Expanding the College Football Playoff worked.

When Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34-23, the College Football Playoff wrapped up its biggest postseason ever, and despite the high amount of blowouts, the 12-team playoff was a success. A season ago, seven teams were vying for a spot in the playoff during conference championship week.