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Topic: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980

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medinabuckeye1

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90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« on: February 09, 2026, 04:15:04 PM »
All data from College Poll Archive.  

I've broken the 90 years of AP Polls into six 15 year segments and I will continue making a post like this roughly each week, one for each segment.  Here are the previous posts:



Each post lists the top-25 programs from that 15 years as measured by total appearances, top-10 appearances, and top-5 appearances.  For this week I'm displaying the top-25 from 1966-1980 along with all of the teams that are top-25 for the first 45 years (1936-1980) and for the entire 90 years (1936-2025).  Starting with AP Poll Appearances:


AP Poll top-10 appearances:


AP Top-5 Appearances:


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FearlessF

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2026, 04:53:50 PM »
great era for college football
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ManHawk

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2026, 06:07:19 PM »
Quote from: FearlessF on February 09, 2026, 04:53:50 PM
great era for college football
I am not sure Iowa fans will agree.  By far the worst period for the Hawkeyes.
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SFBadger96

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2026, 06:13:05 PM »
For people of about my age, this is the era that set top-tier helmet status.
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Brutus Buckeye

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2026, 09:23:02 PM »
Mizzou is the only one that surprises me this time around. Didn't know that they were ever all that good. 
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FearlessF

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2026, 10:00:56 PM »
Dan Devine  
He served as the head football coach at the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970
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Brutus Buckeye

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2026, 10:05:21 PM »
Never heard of him. 
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FearlessF

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2026, 10:08:56 PM »
yer too young

Horns fans remember him at Notre Dame
Vikings fans remember him from the Green Bay Packers
Husker fans remember him at Mizzou
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FearlessF

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2026, 10:44:27 PM »
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ManHawk

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2026, 09:17:53 AM »
Quote from: Brutus Buckeye on February 09, 2026, 10:05:21 PM
Never heard of him.
I think he was the evil coach in the movie Rudy
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medinabuckeye1

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2026, 12:20:35 PM »
Quote from: ManHawk on February 09, 2026, 06:07:19 PM
I am not sure Iowa fans will agree.  By far the worst period for the Hawkeyes.
I'm fascinated by this sort of thing so I looked deeper into it and wow, what a dramatic fall.  

Imagine if you will that you were born about the time that Gatorama (1939) or my dad (1940) was born.  Now imagine that you are from Iowa and you go to the University of Iowa so based on your age you matriculate in 1957 or 1958.  

In 1960 when you are a a Junior or Senior the Hawkeyes are ranked #1 for three weeks in October in between beating #12 Wisconsin and losing to #3 Minnesota.  The Hawkeyes finish the year #3 and the next year they are preseason #1!  

So now you are 21 or 22 years old and your Hawkeyes are preseason #1.  They hold on to #1 for three weeks then drop to #2, #4, and eventually #5 after a series of lackluster wins.  On October 28 Iowa loses to unranked Purdue who has already lost twice (ND, M) and your beloved Hawkeyes drop to #9.  A week later they lose 29-13 in Columbus to #5 Ohio State and the next time your beloved Hawkeyes are ranked, you are in you 40s.  

That seriously happened.  Iowa was preseason #1 in 1961 and finished unranked (the poll was only 10 teams from 1961-1967 but Iowa would have finished unranked anyway as they went 5-4.  That may sound bad and 5-4 is definitely disappointing for a team that started #1 but . . . after that 5-4 record in 1961 Iowa didn't have another winning season until 1981 (8-4).  
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FearlessF

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2026, 12:43:08 PM »
if you were born in 62, all you knew was that the Hawks didn't have a winning season

and then Hayden arrived from North Texas in 1979
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utee94

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2026, 12:55:27 PM »
A good West Texas boy.
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FearlessF

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the third 15: 1966-1980
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2026, 01:05:47 PM »
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