Theo Lawson

The Spokesman-Review

PULLMAN — The winningest season in Washington State history was capped by a top-10 finish in the last edition of the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Hours after Clemson beat Alabama in the national championship, the Cougars, who closed out the season with a 28-26 win over Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl, moved up two spots and checked in at No. 10 in the final Top 25 rankings. WSU and No. 7 Florida were the only teams to open the season unranked and finish inside the top-10 of the AP poll.

Cross-state rival Washington fell to No. 13 in the poll after suffering a 28-23 loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

The two Evergreen State teams both finished inside the top-15, but they were also the only Pac-12 representatives in the poll. Other Pac-12 teams that received votes in the poll included Stanford (52), Utah (43) and Oregon (11).

It’s the first time in history WSU finished as the poll’s top-ranked team, according to the AP’s Josh Dubow, and not since 2010 have there been just two Pac-12 teams ranked in the final edition of the Top 25.

By comparison, the Mountain West Conference had three teams ranked in the poll: No. 18 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah State and No. 23 Fresno State.

Clemson topped the final AP poll after routing Alabama 44-16 in Thursday’s title game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Rounding out the top-10 were the No. 2 Crimson Tide, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 6 LSU, No. 7 Georgia, No. 7 Florida, No. 9 Texas and No. 10 WSU.