Notre Dame Wins Final AP Football Poll

Notre Dame, by defeating regular-season leader Alabama, 24-23, in the Sugar Bowl Monday night, vaulted from third place to first in the final Associated Press ratings announced Thursday and thereby won its first national championship since 1960. The Irish won over Ohio State, which jumped from fourth to second by trouncing USC, 42-21, in the Rose Bowl, and Oklahoma, which was ineligible for a bowl trip and slipped from second to third. Notre Dame received 33 first-place votes and 1,125 points from a nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Ohio State earned 11 first-place ballots and 1,002 points while Oklahoma got the other 16 first-place votes and 965 points.

[source: ap]