This is a list of college football teams by the number of weeks they have been ranked number one in the AP poll since its inception in 1936 through November 24, 2024. [1] [2]
Rank | Team | Weeks | First appearance | Most recent appearance |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alabama | 141 | 1961 | 2024 |
2 | Ohio State | 105 | 1942 | 2015 |
3 | Oklahoma | 101 | 1950 | 2011 |
4 | Notre Dame | 98 | 1938 | 2012 |
5 | USC | 91 | 1939 | 2012 |
6 | Florida State | 72 | 1988 | 2014 |
7 | Nebraska | 70 | 1965 | 2000 |
8 | Miami (FL) | 68 | 1983 | 2002 |
9 | Georgia | 54 | 1942 | 2024 |
10 | Texas | 49 | 1941 | 2024 |
11 | Florida | 41 | 1985 | 2009 |
12 | LSU | 38 | 1958 | 2019 |
13 | Michigan | 36 | 1947 | 2024 |
14 | Michigan State | 29 | 1951 | 1966 |
15 | Army | 27 | 1944 | 1958 |
16 | Clemson | 25 | 1981 | 2020 |
17 | Penn State | 21 | 1978 | 1997 |
Pittsburgh | 21 | 1937 | 1982 | |
19 | Minnesota | 18 | 1936 | 1960 |
Tennessee | 18 | 1939 | 1998 | |
21 | Oregon | 16 | 2010 | 2024 |
22 | Washington | 15 | 1982 | 1992 |
23 | Iowa | 11 | 1960 | 1985 |
24 | Auburn | 9 | 1957 | 2010 |
25 | Colorado | 7 | 1989 | 1990 |
Syracuse | 7 | 1959 | 1960 | |
Texas A&M | 7 | 1939 | 1957 | |
UCLA | 7 | 1954 | 1988 | |
29 | Maryland | 6 | 1953 | 1955 |
30 | Mississippi State | 5 | 2014 | 2014 |
Northwestern | 5 | 1936 | 1962 | |
Ole Miss | 5 | 1960 | 1964 | |
Purdue | 5 | 1968 | 1968 | |
34 | BYU | 4 | 1984 | 1984 |
California | 4 | 1937 | 1951 | |
Cornell† | 4 | 1940 | 1940 | |
37 | Virginia | 3 | 1990 | 1990 |
38 | Missouri | 2 | 1960 | 2007 |
SMU | 2 | 1950 | 1950 | |
TCU | 2 | 1938 | 1938 | |
41 | Arkansas | 1 | 1965 | 1965 |
Boston College | 1 | 1942 | 1942 | |
North Carolina | 1 | 1948 | 1948 | |
Wisconsin | 1 | 1952 | 1952 |
† No longer a FBS school.
Bold: Team ranked number one in most recent poll.
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in the BCS National Championship Game. The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff under its original four-team format.
The NCAA Division II football championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination playoff with eight teams. The tournament field has subsequently been expanded three times: to 16 teams in 1988, 24 teams in 2004, and 28 teams in 2016.
In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tournament to determine an annual national champion, instead relying on a vote by sportswriters or coaches. In place of such a playoff, cities developed regional festivals featuring bowls. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals. Despite the move to establish a permanent system to determine the FBS national champion on the field, some bowls are still held.
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four designated bowl games, and beginning in the 2006 season as a standalone event rotated among the host sites of the aforementioned bowls.
The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
The Associated Press poll provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadcasters from across the nation. Each voter provides their own ranking of the top 25 teams, and the individual rankings are then combined to produce the national ranking by giving a team 25 points for a first place vote, 24 for a second place vote, and so on down to 1 point for a twenty-fifth place vote. Ballots of the voting members in the AP poll are publicized.
The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially as the US LBM Coaches Poll since 2023.
The Harris Interactive College Football Poll was a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football teams. The rankings were compiled by Harris Interactive, a market research company that specializes in Internet research.
Three polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season, two additional polls are released, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS standings. At the end of the season, the BCS standings determine who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship Game.
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best college football team. Division I FBS football is the only National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sport for which the NCAA does not host a yearly championship event. As such, it is sometimes referred to as a "mythical national championship".
Three human polls and one formula ranking make up the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. Two additional polls are released midway through the season; the Harris Interactive Poll is released after the fourth week of the season and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings is released after the seventh week. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS standings. At the end of the season, on Sunday, December 6, 2009, the BCS standings determines who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the 2010 BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2010 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.
The Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of the Mountain West Conference (MW).
The 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprised the 2015 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll is released midway through the season; the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings are released after the eighth week.
The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016, and ended on December 10, 2016. The postseason concluded on January 9, 2017, with the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, where the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide to claim their second national title in school history. The championship game was a rematch of the 2016 edition won by Alabama.
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprised the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that began in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll was released midway through the season; the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings are released after the eighth week.
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprise the 2020 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship at the FBS level. Instead, that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll, the College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, is usually released starting midway through the season. The CFP rankings determine who makes the four-team playoff that determines the College Football Playoff National Champion. Due to scheduling impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, release of CFP rankings during the 2020 season was adjusted to have the first rankings issued on November 24 and the final rankings issued on December 20.
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprise the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship at the FBS level. Instead, that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll, the College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, is usually released starting midway through the season. The CFP rankings determine who makes the four-team playoff that determines the College Football Playoff National Champion.
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprise the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship at the FBS level. Instead, that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One additional poll, the College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, is usually released starting midway through the season. The CFP rankings determine who makes the four-team playoff that determines the College Football Playoff National Champion.