Fansided

Associated Press releases first all-time Top 25 AP Poll

By John Buhler

Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes mascot Brutus plays with the College Playoff trophy after the game against the Oregon Ducks for the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes mascot Brutus plays with the College Playoff trophy after the game against the Oregon Ducks for the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Associated Press has for the first time released its all-time Top 25 AP Poll, taking into account all collegiate gridiron success since its 1936 debut.

Next: 50 Greatest College Football Programs Of All-Time

While many fans of Division I college football are anxiously waiting for the initial AP Top 25 preseason poll coming in a few weeks time, the Associated Press has for the first time compiled its all-time Top 25 AP Poll.

The Associated Press has been releasing weekly college football polls since the 1936 with the Big 10’s Minnesota Golden Gophers are the first overall No. 1. This all-time Top 25 poll takes into account weeks on the AP Poll, weeks at No. 1, and bonuses for winning national championships. Here are the traditional blue-blood programs shake out.

The top five are as follows: Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Alabama Crimson Tide, Southern California Trojans. These five programs have been the lifeblood of college football and have been successful for the most part of the AP Top 25’s duration. No real shockers here.

Six through 10 are as follows: Nebraska Cornhuskers, Michigan Wolverines, Texas Longhorns, Florida State Seminoles, Florida Gators. Nebraska is at six, but may have trouble sustaining their place in the top 10 over time. Michigan might feel slighted to be at No. 7. Texas in the top 10 makes sense. It’s impressive that both Florida State and Florida have ascended to the top 10 despite not having as long of a football powerhouse tradition as other schools in their realm.

11 through 15 are as follows: LSU Tigers, Penn State Nittany Lions, Miami Hurricanes, Tennessee Volunteers, Georgia Bulldogs. All five of these programs identify as blue-bloods, but are understandably not top 10 all-time programs. Their almost always good, rarely bad, but haven’t had traditional staying power in the elite category like the top 10.

16 through 20 are as follows: Auburn Tigers, UCLA Bruins, Texas A&M Aggies, Michigan State Spartans, Washington Huskies. At first glance, outside of Auburn, these five don’t feel like traditional powers. However, all five have had success on the gridiron over several generations of playing college football. Top 20 makes sense for these five schools.

Rounding out the top 25, here are 21 through 25: Arkansas Razorbacks, Clemson Tigers, Pittsburgh Panthers, Wisconsin Badgers, Iowa Hawkeyes. Though all respectable programs that have been relevant for years, where these five seem to come up short is in the national championship department. Clemson may rise in 2016 should they win the third annual College Football Playoff.

Teams that just missed the cut include the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the Colorado Buffaloes, and the Oregon Ducks. It will have to take a great 2016 to get any of these three programs into the top 25 all-time. They’ve been elite at times, but are all coming off disappointing 2015 campaigns.

For more NCAA football posts, please check out our NCAA football category page.

Home/College Football