Ohio State tops AP's all-time Top 100
The Associated Press has been ranking the best teams in college football for the last 80 seasons. Since the first Top 20 in 1936, 1,103 polls have been taken and 164 schools have been ranked. Minnesota was the first No. 1 in 1936. Western Kentucky was the last team to make its poll debut (in the final poll of the 2015 season). In between, Muhlenburg, NYU and Colorado College have made appearances.
To determine an all-time Top 100 for the first time, the AP counted poll appearances (one point) to mark consistency, No. 1 rankings (one bonus point) to acknowledge elite programs and gave a big bonus for AP championships won (10 points).
The results are here and below:
THE TOP FIVE
No. 1 Ohio State (1,112 points)
Total appearances: 852, 77.24 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 105.
Championships: Five (last 2014).
Best full decade: 1970s appeared in 92.57 percent of polls.
Worst full decade: 1940s appeared in 55.68 percent of polls.
Poll point: There have only been three seasons during the 80-year history of the AP poll in which the Buckeyes were not ranked at least once, the fewest poll-less seasons of any program.
No. 2 Oklahoma (1,055 points)
Total appearances: 784, 71.08 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1938.
No. 1 rankings: 100 1/2.
Championships: Seven (last 2000).
Best full decade: 1950s appeared in 94.83 percent of polls.
Worst full decade: 1960s appeared in 28.57 percent of polls.
Poll points: The Sooners have been top-five in percentage of poll appearances in five decades (1950s, `70s, `80s, 2000, `10), most of any program.
No. 3 Notre Dame (1,042 points)
Total appearances: 766, 69.45 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 98.
Championships: Eight (last 1988).
Best full decade: 1940s appeared in 96.59 percent of polls.
Worst full decade: 2000s appeared in 45.18 percent of polls.
Poll points: The Fighting Irish were ranked at least once every season from the first poll in 1936 through 1961.
No. 4 Alabama (993 points)
Total appearances: 745, 67.54 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 74.
Championships: 10 (last 2015).
Best full decade: 1970s appeared in 91.22 percent of polls.
Worst full decade: 1950s appeared in 18.97 percent of polls.
Poll point: From Nov. 3, 1980-Oct. 26, 2008, Alabama was only ranked No. 1 once - the final poll of the 1992 season. The Tide has been top-ranked 43 times since under coach Nick Saban.
No. 5 USC (974 points)
Total appearances: 743, 67.36 percent of all polls.
First appearance: 1936.
No. 1 rankings: 90 1/2.
Championships: Five (last 2004).
Best full decade: 1970s appeared in 89.86 percent of polls.
Worst full decade: 1940s appeared in 47.43 percent of polls.
Poll point: The Trojans were top-ranked 42 times from Dec. 7, 2003-Sept. 21, 2008, under coach Pete Carroll.
THE REST
No. 6 Nebraska (901 points)
No. 7 Michigan (894 points)
No. 8 Texas (822 points)
No. 9 Florida State (714 points)
No. 10 Florida (674 points)
No. 11 LSU (655 points)
No. 12 Penn State (647 points)
No. 13 Miami (642 points)
No. 14 Tennessee (624 points)
No 15 Georgia (572 points)
No. 16 Auburn (570 points)
No. 17 UCLA (535 points)
No. 18 Texas A&M (447 points)
No. 19 Michigan State (443 points)
No. 20 Washington (430 points)
No. 21 Arkansas (412 points)
No. 22 Clemson (411 points)
No. 23 Pittsburgh (356 points)
No. 24 Wisconsin (336 points)
No. 25 Iowa (329 points)
No. 26 Georgia Tech, 320 points.
No. 27 Colorado, 316.
No. 28 Oregon, 293.
No. 29 Mississippi, 290.
No. 30 Arizona State, 284.
No. 31 Virginia Tech, 276.
No. 32 Stanford, 272.
No. 33 West Virginia, 271.
No. 34 BYU, 258.
No. 35 Missouri, 256.
No. 36 Purdue, 246.
No. 37 Minnesota, 241.
No. 38 North Carolina, 240.
No. 39 TCU, 234.
No. 40 Maryland, 230.
No. 41 Syracuse, 221.
No. 42 Army, 214.
No. 43 Oklahoma State, 208.
No. 44 Kansas State, 207.
No. 45 California, 199.
No. 46 Mississippi State, 195.
No. 47, Baylor, 187.
No. 48 South Carolina, 185.
No. 49 Houston, 184.
No. 50 Northwestern, 183.
No. 51 Illinois, 181.
No. 52 Virginia, 174.
No. 53 Duke, 172.
No. 54 Arizona, 168.
No. 55 SMU, 165.
No. 56 N.C. State, 149.
No. 57 Boston College, 141.
No. 58 Texas Tech, 137.
No. 59 Washington State, 129.
No. 60 Navy, 128.
No. 61 Boise State, 127.
No. 62 Louisville, 119.
No. 63 Kansas, 108.
No. 64 Utah, 100.
No. 65 Oregon State, 95.
No. 66 Penn, 89.
No. 67 Air Force, 78.
No. 68 Kentucky, 75.
No. 69 Rice, 70.
No. 70 Tulane, 62.
No. 71 Wyoming, 56.
No. 72 Indiana, 55.
(tie) Fresno State, 55.
(tie) Southern Mississippi, 55.
(tie) Cornell, 55.
No. 76 Toledo, 45.
No. 77 Santa Clara, 43.
(tie) Tulsa, 43.
(tie) Colorado State, 43.
No. 80 Wake Forest, 42.
No. 81 Cincinnati, 41.
(tie) Miami (Ohio), 41.
No. 83 Fordham, 40.
(tie) Iowa State, 40.
No. 85 Holy Cross, 39.
No. 86 Rutgers, 38.
No. 87 Dartmouth, 37.
No. 88 East Carolina, 37.
No. 89 Vanderbilt, 31.
No. 90 Yale, 30.
No. 91 Princeton, 29.
(tie) Marshall, 29.
No. 93 Hawaii, 28.
No. 94 USF, 26.
No. 95 Villanova, 25.
No. 96 Northern Illinois, 23.
No. 97 Duquesne, 20.
No. 98 Iowa Pre-Flight, 18.
No. 99 Columbia, 16.
(tie) William & Mary, 16.
(tie) Nevada, 16.
(tie) Bowling Green, 16.