We always tend to think of the latest being the greatest. That might be the case with Alabama-Clemson CFP Title Game Part II.
But if I remember right, the championship game last January was just as thrilling and equally compelling.
Clemson certainly dodged a loss against North Carolina State that might have prevented the Tigers from reaching the playoff, but the Tigers responded when they needed. I felt like they had the weapons to cause Alabama problems, and they certainly displayed them on Monday night in Tampa.
Who can't feel good for a guy who says "love" was the answer? Well done, Dabo Swinney.
I thought Clemson and Alabama deserved to remain Nos. 1 and 2 in order of Monday's winner no matter the outcome of the game.
Washington got the nod at No. 3 over Ohio State because of the Buckeyes' 31-0 shutout loss in their semifinal against Clemson. I considered vaulting red-hot Oklahoma over Ohio State, but their head-to-head meeting was the decider that slotted the Sooners at No. 5. Another red-hot team at season's end, Southern Cal, shot up to No. 6 as my highest-ranked three-loss team.
The Big Ten is represented by three teams in the top eight and Penn State at No. 11. It was tough to slot the Nittany Lions after their epic shootout loss in the Rose Bowl, which was probably the best viewing of the postseason. Florida State moved up to No. 9 after its thrilling victory over Michigan, which I only dropped to 7, with Wisconsin squeezed between the two.
The gap between Alabama and the rest of the SEC is represented in this ballot by Florida and LSU coming in back-to-back at Nos. 12 and 13 with four losses each. Tennessee is also in the poll at No. 19, but Auburn and Texas A&M, bowl game losers to Oklahoma and Kansas State, fell out.
My top team outside the Power 5 was Western Michigan, which represented itself well against Wisconsin. South Florida and San Diego State also made it in at Nos. 23 and 25, respectively.
1 Clemson
2 Alabama
3 Washington
4 Ohio State
5 Oklahoma
6 USC
7 Michigan
8 Wisconsin
9 Florida State
10 Oklahoma State
11 Penn State
12 Florida
13 LSU
14 Virginia Tech
15 Miami
16 Stanford
17 Western Michigan
18 West Virginia
19 Tennessee
20 Louisville
21 Colorado
22 Utah
23 South Florida
24 Georgia Tech
25 San Diego State
Dropped out: Auburn, Texas A&M, Iowa, Nebraska, Pitt, Temple