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Ballots from final Coaches Poll unveiled

sam cooper
College football writer
Baylor NCAA college head football coach Art Briles responds to questions during a press conference Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014, in Waco, Texas. After weeks of talk about whether Baylor or TCU deserved to be in the playoff, neither made it Sunday, and the Big 12 may be reconsidering how to declare its champion. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Rod Aydelotte)
Baylor NCAA college head football coach Art Briles responds to questions during a press conference Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014, in Waco, Texas. After weeks of talk about whether Baylor or TCU deserved to be in the playoff, neither made it Sunday, and the Big 12 may be reconsidering how to declare its champion. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Rod Aydelotte)

The USA Today Coaches Poll has no bearing on the College Football Playoff selection committee’s rankings, but it’s always interesting to see how the participating coaches break down their own Top 25 at the end of the season.

Those ballots were unveiled Sunday, and the coaches had the same top four teams as the committee, except Florida State and Oregon flip-flopped with the Seminoles at No. 2 and the Ducks at No. 3.

The rest of the Top 10 was different as well. The coaches and committee both had Baylor at No. 5 and TCU at No. 6, but the coaches had Michigan State ahead of Mississippi State at Nos. 7 and 8, while the committee switched those two with the Bulldogs seventh and the Spartans eighth.

Rounding out the Top 10 for the coaches were Georgia Tech at No. 9 (No. 12 in the CFP ranks) and Kansas State at No. 10 (No. 11 according to the committee).

The real fun comes when you look at some of the individual ballots.

For instance, Baylor’s Art Briles was the only coach to rank Alabama fourth. Four other coaches – Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, Fresno State’s Tim DeRuyter, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly and Oregon State’s Mike Riley (now at Nebraska) – put the Tide at No. 3, but the rest of the group had Alabama first or second.

Briles had his own team at No. 3. while placing Big 12 opponent TCU at No. 5. Predictably, TCU’s Gary Patterson saw it differently, ranking his Horned Frogs at No. 3 and the Bears at No. 5.

Elsewhere, only one coach – Louisiana-Monroe’s Todd Berry – had Florida State outside the Top 4. Berry had the Seminoles at No. 5 with Alabama, Oregon, Baylor and TCU making up his Top 4. Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, along with 24 other coaches, ranked the Seminoles at No. 1. Also somewhat of note, Jimbo Fisher left Georgia (No. 13 in the CFP ranks and Coaches Poll) unranked.

Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy was the only coach to have Oregon outside the Top 4 (at No. 5). Gundy also was the only coach to rank TCU as No. 1.

A few other curious picks include Arkansas’ Bret Bielema ranking Georgia Tech (No. 9 in the CFP) at No. 19 and Kansas State (No. 10 in the CFP) at No. 18. Additionally, Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson apparently wasn’t too impressed with Ole Miss. The Rebels finished ninth in the committee’s rankings and 12th in the Coaches Poll. In Anderson’s poll, the Rebels came in at No. 25.

Middle Tennessee’s Rick Stockstill really stuck up for his fellow Group of Five teams. He disagreed with the committee’s assessment that Boise State was the best Group of Five team. Stockstill had the Broncos at No. 21, but had Marshall (No. 14) and Memphis (No. 16) ahead of BSU. He also had 8-4 BYU ranked No. 20. Not even BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall placed his team in the Top 25.

Take a look at the results of the coach ballots here. You'll probably find something that will make you chuckle or scratch your head.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!