Final top 5 teams? Or is it just top 5 at game time? Pretty big diff.
Also why is it just top 5? Road wins over top 10 teams need to count for something.
the 2007 college football season comes to mind.
#2 Oregon falls to Arizona, loses their next two and drops out of the polls. Won their bowl game against another former #2 team to finish #23.
...and said #2 team was South Florida. They were 6-0 and up to #2 before falling to Rutgers. They dropped their next two to fall out of the polls and finished 9-4 and unranked.
And while Louisville was never in the top 5 that year, they were a preseason #10 and were up to #8 going into the Kentucky game. They lost to UK and finished 6-6 without making a bowl. Kentucky also was sitting at #8 in late October before falling to Florida. They finished 8-5 and unranked.
Michigan entered the season #5. We all know what happened week one, DON'T REMIND ME. They also got murdered by Oregon a week later. They went 9-4 and finished #18. PSU wasn't top 5, but they were #10 when Michigan knocked them off. PSU finished 9-4 and unranked.
Wisconsin was 5-0 and ranked #5 entering the Illinois game. They lost 31-26 and got embarrassed by Penn State a week later. They finished 9-4 and ranked #24.
Cal also started the season 5-0 and rose to #2. They lost 6 of their next 7 to finish in the Armed Forces Bowl, where they beat Air Force to finish 7-6 and unranked.
Maryland beat a #10 Rutgers team that finished 8-5 and unranked.