The AP poll is has been the most consistent ranking system over the long history of college football. What programs come out best? Here are the top programs according to a CFN formula using all the AP’s final rankings.
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The AP college football rankings don’t have anything to do with the College Football Playoff process, and they haven’t had a part in determining the actual national champion for over a decade, but they’ve been consistent and reliable since 1936.
No other ranking system provides a better historical snapshot of the last 90+ seasons.
There were times when the AP rankings went rogue – making the biggest splash in 2003 naming USC the national champion, and not BCS Champion LSU – and they’ve played a part in the past when it comes to split title winners. They just keep on marching along.
Here’s the drill. Taking all the AP final rankings, CFN devised a scoring system giving every AP national champion 25 points, the No. 2 team 24, No. 3 23, and so on down to the bottom – currently No. 25, but the rankings were only a top ten for a bit, and was later a top 20.
What does this all prove? Consistency is great, consistency at a high level matters more, and winning national championships – or coming close – make a program an all-time powerhouse.
AP Final Rankings Greatest Teams Of All-Time
Rankings from 1935 through to LSU’s national championship after the 2019 season. Who earned the most all-time respect and attention from the AP voters?
Top Teams Of The … 1930s | 1940s | 1950s
1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
Rank | Teams | Points | Previous Rank |
1 | Oklahoma | 1201 | 1 |
2 | Alabama | 1080 | 2 |
3 | Ohio State | 1075 | 3 |
4 | Michigan | 993 | 4 |
5 | Notre Dame | 989 | 5 |
6 | USC | 832 | 6 |
7 | Texas | 790 | 7 |
8 | Nebraska | 783 | 8 |
9 | Penn State | 711 | 9 |
10 | Tennessee | 686 | 10 |
11 | LSU | 678 | 11 |
12 | Georgia | 591 | 12 |
13 | Auburn | 584 | 13 |
14 | Florida State | 563 | 14 |
15 | Florida | 538 | 16 |
16 | Miami | 530 | 15 |
17 | UCLA | 503 | 17 |
18 | Michigan State | 454 | 18 |
19 | Arkansas | 439 | 19 |
20 | Clemson | 448 | 20 |
21 | Wisconsin | 378 | 23 |
22 | Washington | 376 | 21 |
23 | Texas A&M | 375 | 22 |
24 | Ole Miss | 347 | 24 |
25 | Georgia Tech | 343 | 25 |