The Illinois Fighting Illini ended a poor season on a high note by taking the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, and the Northern Illinois Huskies jumped all over Akansas state in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, but neither team cracked the AP Top 25 at the close of the 2011-12 NCAA football season. The Huskies earned the third-highest votes for teams outside of the top 25, but it is still a disappointment to miss out on the official list.
In fact, the Big Ten had a rough year in retrospect. Only the Wisconsin Badgers (No. 10) finished in the top 10, and after that the Michigan State Spartans (No. 11) jumped the Michigan Wolverines (No. 12) and the Nebraska Cornhuskers rolled in a No. 24. Here is the complete AP Top 25 list:
| Rank | Team | Record | Votes | Prev |
| 1 | Alabama (55) | 12-1 | 1,495 | 2 |
| 2 | LSU (1) | 13-1 | 1,425 | 1 |
| 3 | Oklahoma State (4) | 12-1 | 1,399 | 3 |
| 4 | Oregon | 12-2 | 1,250 | 6 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 11-2 | 1,198 | 7 |
| 6 | USC | 10-2 | 1,181 | 5 |
| 7 | Stanford | 11-2 | 1,167 | 4 |
| 8 | Boise State | 12-1 | 1,127 | 8 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 11-2 | 1,013 | 10 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 11-3 | 905 | 9 |
| 11 | Michigan State | 11-3 | 873 | 12 |
| 12 | Michigan | 11-2 | 839 | 13 |
| 13 | Baylor | 10-3 | 780 | 15 |
| 14 | TCU | 11-2 | 653 | 16 |
| 15 | Kansas State | 10-3 | 621 | 11 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 10-3 | 572 | 19 |
| 17 | West Virginia | 10-3 | 547 | 23 |
| 18 | Houston | 13-1 | 518 | 20 |
| 19 | Georgia | 10-4 | 439 | 18 |
| 20 | Southern Miss | 12-2 | 411 | 22 |
| 21 | Virginia Tech | 11-3 | 329 | 17 |
| 22 | Clemson | 10-4 | 188 | 14 |
| 23 | Florida State | 9-4 | 154 | 25 |
| 24 | Nebraska | 9-4 | 143 | 21 |
| 25 | Cincinnati | 10-3 | 103 | NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Brigham Young51, Auburn40, Northern Illinois33, Missouri23, Texas15, Rutgers3, Penn State2, North Dakota State2, Virginia1
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