For the first time, Marshall and West Virginia have finished theseason ranked together.
Marshall (11-2) ended at No. 24 in the final Associated Press pollSaturday after beating Louisville 38-15 in the GMAC Bowl on Dec. 18.
West Virginia (9-4) fell from 15th to 25th in the final AP pollafter losing 48-22 to Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl on Dec.28.
Marshall and West Virginia finished 19th and 20th, respectively,in the final USA Today-ESPN coaches poll.
Marshall started the season ranked 19th in the AP poll, its first-ever preseason ranking. The Thundering Herd climbed to 16th thefollowing week after beating Appalachian State, then lost badly toVirginia Tech in the second game and fell out of the poll untilSaturday.
With Miami's loss to Ohio State on Friday in the Fiesta Bowl,Marshall now leads the nation with bowl wins in five consecutiveseasons.
West Virginia was unranked for most of the season, but shot up to15th after back-to-back road wins over ranked teams Virginia Tech andPittsburgh.
The last time Marshall ended a season ranked in the AP poll was in1999, when it went 13-0 to finish at No. 10. West Virginia earned aTop 10 finish after the 1993 season, the last time it was ranked toend the year.
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