Completing a perfect season with a victory in one of the most thrilling National Championship games in college football history, the Florida State Seminoles will now go into the offseason as the undisputed No. 1 team in America. Thanks to a come-from-behind victory over No. 2 Auburn at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, freshman quarterback Jameis Winston and the Seminoles (14-0) will now have some time to celebrate the university's third AP National Title and first since 1999 before beginning preparations for the 2014-2015 campaign. Winston – who became only the second freshman to win the Heisman Trophy back in December – threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with :13 remaining in the game, helping FSU come back from a deficit that stood at 21-3 back in the first half.
Despite dropping a highly contested championship game to Florida State, the Auburn Tigers (12-2) landed at No. 2 in the final Associated Press poll. Auburn used stout defense, a strong running game and special teams magic to put together one of the best turnaround seasons in college football history. Just a year after going winless in the SEC and finishing the season with only 3 wins, the Tigers upended two-time defending champion Alabama in the final game of the season and then took down Missouri in the SEC Championship game. A late comeback effort came up just a bit short against Florida State however, but the Tigers know they certainly hold a high-level of talent moving forward, especially with head coach Gus Malzahn leading the way.
Three SEC teams finished the season ranked in the AP Top 5 but after dropping the Sugar Bowl to the Oklahoma Sooners, Nick Saban and the two-time defending BCS National Champion Crimson Tide were not one of them. Behind No. 3 Michigan State – the 2014 Rose Bowl Game winner – South Carolina and Missouri rounded out the SEC squads in the Top 5. BCS Bowl winners Oklahoma (Sugar Bowl) and Clemson (Orange) landed sixth and eighth while Alabama (7), Oregon (9) and Fiesta Bowl champion Central Florida complete the Top 10. Notre Dame (20) and Duke University (22) landed in the final rankings as well.
Final AP College Football Poll, 2013-2014
1. Florida State, 14-0
2. Auburn, 12-2
3. Michigan State, 13-1
4. South Carolina, 11-2
5. Missouri, 12-2
6. Oklahoma, 11-2
7. Alabama, 11-2
8. Clemson, 11-2
9. Oregon, 11-2
10. Central Florida, 12-1
11. Stanford, 11-3
12. Ohio State, 12-2
13. Baylor, 11-2
14. LSU, 10-3
15. Louisville, 12-1
16. UCLA, 10-3
17. Oklahoma State, 10-3
18. Texas A&M, 9-4
19. USC, 10-4
20. Notre Dame, 9-4
21. Arizona State, 10-4
22. Wisconsin, 9-4
23. Duke, 10-4
24. Vanderbilt, 9-4
25. Washington, 9-4
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