NEW ORLEANS ( AP) — Alabama split the games and swept the titles.

The Crimson Tide was voted No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll for the eighth time, tying Notre Dame for the most of any team in college football, after winning a rematch with LSU in the BCS championship on Monday night.

Alabama’s 21-0 victory easily offset the Tigers’ 9-6 win on Nov. 5 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and gave it the top spot in the AP ranking to go along with the No. 1 ranking in the USA Today coaches’ poll.

The Tide received 55 firstplace votes and No. 2 LSU got one. Big 12 champion Oklahoma State (12-1) was No. 3 and received four first-place votes.

Oregon finished fourth and Arkansas was fifth, giving the SEC three of the top five teams in the country.

Before the ballots were cast early this morning, most voters said they would at least consider voting LSU No. 1 in the final AP poll even with a loss because of its stronger overall resume, which included a road victory against the Tide. Oklahoma State would get consideration, too, depending on how things went in Tide-Tigers II.

Alabama dominated LSU in the Superdome, holding the Tigers to 92 yards and recording the first shutout in BCS championship game history.

Coach Nick Saban led Alabama to its second AP title in the last three years and joined Bear Bryant (five) as Crimson Tide coaches with multiple championships.

“The goal was control your destiny,” Saban said, referring to his team’s approach to the game.

LSU can claim the SEC championship and victories against Pac-12 champion Oregon and Big East champion and No. 17 West Virginia. LSU coach Les Miles praised his team when asked if it deserved to be voted national champions, though he stopped short of lobbying.

“This football team has as quality a run as there is in this country,” he said. “Played eight nationally ranked teams. Played in six stadiums before the SEC championship game, which we won as well. I think this team accomplished a lot. I think that’s for the voters to figure.”

Southern California, which sat out the postseason because of NCAA sanctions, was No. 6 and Pac-12 rival Stanford was seventh.

AP Final Top 25 poll

The AP Top 25 — By The Associated Press
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college
football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses,
final records, total points based on 25 points for a
first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place
vote, and previous ranking:

Others receiving votes: BYU 51, Auburn 40, N. Illinois 33, Missouri 23, Texas 15, Rutgers 3, N.
Dakota St. 2, Penn St. 2, Virginia 1.