BROWNSVILLE, Tenn.— Ohio State’s 42-20 win over Oregon in Monday night’s National Championship game put the wraps on what’s been one of the most successful football seasons in recent Mid-South history. For the first time ever, three of the area’s most heavily followed teams—No. 11 Mississippi State, No. 17 Ole Miss and No. 25 Memphis—finished ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25.

A fourth area team, the Tennessee Volunteers, made their first bowl appearance since 2008 with a 45-28 win over 7-6 Iowa.

For Mississippi State (10-3) and Ole Miss (9-4), the final rankings are a far cry from the lofty No. 1 and No. 3 slots they held in mid-October, but those rankings usher in national championship aspirations for next year; and for Memphis (10-3), the No. 25 spot is their first AP Poll Top 25 finish of all time. The Tigers poetically finish one spot behind an old rival—No. 24 Louisville.

Mississippi State fell in 49-34 in the Orange Bowl to No. 8 Georgia Tech (11-3), Ole Miss fell 42-3 to No. 3 TCU (12-1) in the Peach Bowl. Memphis finished as the American Athletic Conference Champion, and recorded a 55-48 win over BYU (8-5) in the Miami Beach Bowl.

The Bulldogs, Rebels, Tigers and Vols are all expected to garner preseason Top 25 votes going into the 2015-2016 season.

Final Associated Press Top 25 Football Poll

1. Ohio State (59 first place votes)
2. Oregon
3. TCU
4. Alabama
5. Florida State
5. Michigan State
7. Baylor
8. Georgia Tech
9. Georgia
10. UCLA
11. Mississippi State
12. Arizona State
13. Wisconsin
14. Missouri
15. Clemson
16. Boise State
17. Ole Miss
18. Kansas State
19. Arizona
20. USC
21. Utah
22. Auburn
23. Marshall
24. Louisville
25. Memphis