Ohio State opened the season at No. 6 in our 1-128 rankings, fell to No. 13 in our midseason rankings after a disappointing loss to Virginia Tech, but finished the season as the first major college football team to go through an actual playoff system and emerge as national champions.
With the bowl season over and the first-ever College Football Playoff now complete, here's a look at how the FBS programs stack up with an entire season's body work taken into account.
1. Ohio State (14-1)
2. Oregon (13-2)
3. TCU (12-1)
Buzz: This was a great season for the Horned Frogs. Still, it's hard not to think about what could have been, as the loss was a three-point setback to Baylor in which TCU led by 21 with 11 minutes left in the game.
Player to watch next season: QB Trevone Boykin.
4. Alabama (12-2)
Buzz: This was not a vintage Tide team and it showed in the Sugar Bowl loss to Ohio State, in which a QB making his second career start carved up the Alabama defense to the tune of 42 points and 537 yards.
Player to watch next season: DT A'Shawn Robinson.
5. Florida State (13-1)
Buzz: The Seminoles lived on the edge for most of the season -- seven wins by six or fewer points -- and it caught up with them when they coughed it up five times in a Rose Bowl loss to Oregon. Still, FSU ran its winning streak to 29 games before it fell to the Ducks, and winning 29 in a row in this day and age in college football is a tremendous feat.
Player to watch next season: RB Dalvin Cook.
6. Michigan State (11-2)
Buzz: Michigan State's defense was overrun in its two losses. Thing is, the two losses were to Ohio State and Oregon, and there was no shame in losing to either.
Player to watch next season: QB Connor Cook.
7. Georgia Tech (11-3)
Buzz: The Yellow Jackets' three losses came by a total of 13 points. QB Justin Thomas is a great fit for Tech's triple-option offense, and when coach Paul Johnson has a quarterback who is a great fit, good things happen.
Player to watch next season: DT Adam Gotsis.
8. UCLA (10-3)
Buzz: The assumption was the Bruins would win the Pac-12 South. That didn't happen, and the Bruins might have underachieved a bit relative to their talent level. Still, this was just the third time in school history UCLA has won 10 games in back-to-back seasons.
Player to watch next season: DT Kenny Clark.
9. Baylor (11-2)
Buzz: The Bears were the only team to beat TCU. But they also lost to West Virginia and had an epic fourth-quarter meltdown in losing to Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl.
Player to watch next season: DE Shawn Oakman.
10. Georgia (10-3)
Buzz: The Bulldogs hammered SEC East champ Missouri 34-0, but losses to South Carolina and Florida kept Georgia from winning the division title. This was the ninth 10-win season in coach Mark Richt's 14-season tenure.
Player to watch next season: RB Nick Chubb.
11. Mississippi State (10-3)
Buzz: The Bulldogs were 9-0 in early November and looked to be in good shape to make the College Football Playoff field. But the season unraveled after that, with Mississippi State losing three of its final four.
Player to watch next season: QB Dak Prescott.
12. Clemson (10-3)
Buzz: True freshman QB Deshaun Watson has the look of a future Heisman contender, and the Tigers led the nation in total defense.
Player to watch next season: QB Deshaun Watson.
13. Missouri (11-3)
Buzz: For the second season in a row, the Tigers were the surprise winners of the SEC East. They won the division this season despite inconsistent play from QB Maty Mauk (six games with a completion percentage under 50 percent and 10 games under 60 percent).
Player to watch next season: LB Kentrell Brothers.
14. Wisconsin (11-3)
Buzz: Melvin Gordon had one of the best seasons by a running back in NCAA history and finished second in the Heisman voting. He had six 200-yard games this season.
Player to watch next season: LB Vince Biegel.
15. Boise State (12-2)
Buzz: The Broncos started 3-2, then turned it on. They scored at least 34 points in all but one of their wins and at least 50 five times.
Player to watch next season: OLB Kamalei Correa.
16. Arizona State (10-3)
Buzz: The defense struggled down the stretch and the Sun Devils lost two of their final five. They surrendered at least 31 points in each of the final five games after allowing that many just twice in the first eight games.
Player to watch next season: RB D.J. Foster.
17. USC (9-4)
Buzz: As good as this season was, it could've (should've?) been better, as three of the losses were by six or fewer points, including a gut-wrenching Hail Mary setback to Arizona State.
Player to watch next season: C Max Tuerk.
18. Kansas State (9-4)
Buzz: The Wildcats averaged 421.6 yards of offense per game this season -- the fourth-best mark in school history.
Player to watch next season: SS Dante Barnett.
19. Mississippi (9-4)
Buzz: What looked as if it could be a magical season instead ended with four losses in the final six games. This was the 11th season in a row, the 21st time in 22 seasons and the 39th time in 43 seasons that the Rebels lost at least four games.
Player to watch next season: OT Laremy Tunsil.
20. Arizona (10-4)
Buzz: The Wildcats were the surprise winners of the Pac-12 South, and redshirt freshman QB Anu Solomon looks like a burgeoning star.
Player to watch next season: LB Scooby Wright.
21. Utah (9-4)
Buzz: Defense led the way for the Utes, who led the nation with 55 sacks and held five foes to less than 20 points.
Player to watch next season: RB Devontae Booker.
22. Auburn (8-5)
Buzz: Gus Malzahn's offense kept humming along. The defense, though, was horrid.
Player to watch next season: WR D'haquille Williams.
23. Louisville (9-4)
Buzz: What's this -- a Bobby Petrino-coached team with a sketchy offense? That was the case with the Cardinals this season.
Player to watch next season: RB Brandon Radcliff.
24. Marshall (13-1)
Buzz: The schedule was a joke, but you can't laugh at a team that won 13 games. The Herd won 11 times by at least 15 points and seven times by at least 29.
Player to watch next season: RB Devon Johnson.
25. Stanford (8-5)
Buzz: The defense did its job all season. The offense, though, was too conservative, and as a result, the Cardinal underachieved overall.
Player to watch next season: OT Kyle Murphy.
Follow Mike Huguenin on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
