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Topic: AP Poll trivia and minutiae heading into 2026

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medinabuckeye1

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AP Poll trivia and minutiae heading into 2026
« on: Today at 12:52:05 PM »
AP Appearances, 1936-2025 (1,267 total polls):

  • 1,016 Ohio State
  • 943 Michigan
  • 922 Oklahoma
  • 907 Alabama
  • 907 Notre Dame
  • 830 USC
  • 806 Texas
  • 733 Nebraska
  • 717 Penn State 
  • 695 Georgia
  • 686 LSU
  • 649 Tennessee
  • 648 Florida
  • 604 Auburn
  • 590 Florida State
  • 553 UCLA
  • 552 Miami, FL
  • 519 aTm
  • 516 Clemson
  • 482 Washington
  • 432 Arkansas
  • 419 Michigan State
  • 416 Wisconsin
  • 400 Oregon
  • 368 Iowa
The top of this list is locked in for the foreseeable future.  Ohio State's lead over #2 Michigan is 73 and there are typically 16 or 17 polls each year so it would take about half a decade for anything to change there.  Michigan's lead over #3 is smaller at 21 but it would still take more than a year of OU being ranked AND Michigan being unranked for the Sooners to overtake the Wolverines.  

Alabama and Notre Dame have been tied since Bama caught Notre Dame on October 30, 2022.  The Irish were #5 in the preseason poll that year but dropped out after starting the year with back-to-back losses to #2 Ohio State and unranked Marshall.  They were unranked for the rest of September and all of October but returned at #20 in the November 6, 2022 Poll.  They have been ranked ever since and currently have the fifth longest active streak of being ranked:
  • 295 Bama 2008-2025
  • 148 Georgia 2017-2025
  • 96 Ohio State 2020-2025
  • 64 Oregon 2022-2025
  • 56 Notre Dame 2022-2025
  • 50 Ole Miss 2023-2025
  • 34 Miami 2024-2025
  • 29 Indiana 2024-2025
Those eight are the only streaks that extend back beyond the 2025 season.  

Bama's streak is the second longest of all time behind only Nebraska's streak of 348 straight weeks of being ranked from 1981-2002.  Bama needs 53 more weeks to catch Nebraska.  If that occurs it will be early in the 2028 season.  

Ohio State's current steak of 96 weeks is the 24th longest of all time.  Ohio State also had the 11th (10th at the time) longest streak of 132 straight weeks ranked from 2012-2020.  Those two streaks are separated only by the two polls during the COVID year of 2020 when Ohio State was ineligible due to the B1G not playing.  

Georgia's streak of 148 weeks ranked from 2017-2025 is the 9th longest of all-time and if they remain ranked for the entire 2026 season they will move into the all-time top-5 passing OU 70-81, M 69-80, Miami 85-95, and Texas 00-10.  
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Cincydawg

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Re: AP Poll trivia and minutiae heading into 2026
« Reply #1 on: Today at 01:01:53 PM »
Fun stuff, thanks.  You know I loathe "rankings", but everything in this is factual at least, just an observation about rankings, so it's cool.
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medinabuckeye1

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Re: AP Poll trivia and minutiae heading into 2026
« Reply #2 on: Today at 03:37:13 PM »
Moving on to top-10 appearances (1,267 polls from 1936-2025):

  • 735 Ohio State
  • 649 Bama
  • 637 Oklahoma
  • 610 Notre Dame
  • 568 Michigan
  • 518 Nebraska
  • 493 USC
  • 491 Texas
  • 435 Penn State
  • 400 Georgia
  • 388 Florida State
  • 357 Florida
  • 348 Tennessee
  • 335 LSU
  • 331 Miami, FL
  • 296 Auburn
  • 227 aTm
  • 225 UCLA
  • 220 Clemson
  • 204 Oregon
  • 201 Arkansas
  • 194 Washington
  • 189 Michigan State
  • 173 Wisconsin
  • 154 Mississippi
Ohio State has the top spot locked down for at least the next few years as #2 Bama is 86 appearances behind so it would take them more than five years to catch up even if they were top-10 every week and Ohio State was out of the top-10 completely every week.  #3 Oklahoma is within striking distance (I'm defining that as 'could mathematically catch up within a year') of Bama as they are only down 12 appearances but that is still a pretty big deficit to overcome in a single season.  After that, ND, M, and UNL are locked into 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively.  Texas could catch USC this year for 7th.  
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medinabuckeye1

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Re: AP Poll trivia and minutiae heading into 2026
« Reply #3 on: Today at 03:49:40 PM »
Top-5 Appearances (1,267 Polls from 1936-2025):

  • 467 Bama
  • 464 tOSU
  • 432 Oklahoma
  • 325 Michigan
  • 323 Notre Dame
  • 296 Nebraska
  • 290 Texas
  • 286 USC
  • 257 Florida State
  • 214 Miami, FL
  • 213 Georgia
  • 188 Florida
  • 187 Penn State
  • 140 LSU
  • 130 Auburn
  • 129 Tennessee
  • 128 Clemson
  • 110 UCLA
  • 109 Michigan State
  • 95 Oregon
  • 90 aTm
  • 85 Washington
  • 75 Army
  • 70 Pitt
  • 68 Ole Miss
This is the first one where my Buckeyes aren't #1 but it is REALLY close.  Also, on ESPN's preseason top-25 the Buckeyes are #1 and the Crimson Tide are well outside the top-5 so this will likely move to a gap of just two spots once the preseason poll comes out.  Then assuming Ohio State doesn't lose or look just awful in a win over Ball State the Buckeyes should move to within one spot of the lead heading into their showdown with the Longhorns in Austin.  My point is that the lead is very much in play this season.  

Oklahoma is in a kind of 'no man's land' more than a year behind the top two and 107 appearances (at least 6 years) ahead of #4.  

Notre Dame is in a similar situation vis-a-vis Michigan as Ohio State's situation vis-a-vis Bama.  Ie, Notre Dame will probably start in the top-5 and should catch the Wolverines after a week-1 win over Wisconsin in Green Bay.  

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