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Topic: AP Poll trivia and minutiae heading into 2026
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medinabuckeye1 · « **on:** July 22, 2026, 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.

Cincydawg · « **Reply #1 on:** July 22, 2026, 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.

medinabuckeye1 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 22, 2026, 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.

medinabuckeye1 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 22, 2026, 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.

medinabuckeye1 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 27, 2026, 04:05:27 PM »

Appearances at #1 (1,267 polls from 1936-2025 - the date after the school is their most recent appearance at #1):

141 Bama, 9/29/2024
120 Ohio State, 11/30/2025
101 Oklahoma, 9/18/2011
98 Notre Dame, 12/2/2012
91 Southern California, 8/18/2012
72 Florida State, 11/23/2014
70 Nebraska, 10/22/2000
68 Miami, FL, 12/8/2002
54 Georgia, 9/8/2024
50 Texas, 8/11/2025
41 Florida, 11/29/2009
38 LSU, 1/14/2020
36 Michigan, 1/9/2024
29 Michigan State, 10/10/1966
27 Army, 10/20/1958
25 Clemson, 11/1/2020
21 Penn State, 10/13/1997
21 Pittsburgh, 11/1/1982
18 Tennessee, 1/5/1999
18 Minnesota, 11/28/1960
16 Oregon, 12/8/2024
15 Washington, 11/3/1992
11 Iowa, 10/29/1985
9 Auburn, 1/11/2011
7 Colorado, 1/2/1991
7 UCLA, 10/25/1988
7 Syracuse, 10/3/1960
7 Texas A&M, 11/11/1957

There are some oddly large gaps at the top of this one. Ohio State at #2 is 21 weeks behind #1 Bama and 19 weeks ahead of #3 Oklahoma. That is more than a year so even if Ohio State were to go coast-to-coast this year, they still wouldn't catch Bama and even if Oklahoma were to go coast-to-coast this year they still wouldn't catch Ohio State. So as I see it:

Bama in a class by themselves.
Ohio State second and also in a class by themselves.
OU/ND/USC fighting for third
UGA/TX fighting it for sixth
Then they are close enough to all be pretty fluid.

Cincydawg · « **Reply #5 on:** July 27, 2026, 06:45:30 PM »

You should do your own blog thing…

FearlessF · « **Reply #6 on:** July 27, 2026, 11:36:29 PM »

FearlessF · « **Reply #7 on:** July 28, 2026, 09:01:11 AM »

FearlessF · « **Reply #8 on:** September 04, 2026, 09:18:05 AM »

seems odd - accurate???

medinabuckeye1 · « **Reply #9 on:** September 04, 2026, 10:39:14 AM »

Quote from: FearlessF on September 04, 2026, 09:18:05 AM

seems odd - accurate???

Checks out per the site I use. I had a hard time finding it but same figures.
After that 5-way tie for 6th:

13 Oklahoma (70-82) and Michigan (38-50) are tied for 11th.
12 Texas (98-09), Georgia (97-08), and Florida (90-01) are tied for 13th.
11 Tennessee (89-99), Bama (71-81), and Notre Dame (64-74) are tied for 16th.
10 Bama (59-68) is 19th. This one is particularly impressive because most of those years there were only 10 teams in the poll.
9 Georgia (current), Notre Dame (current), Oregon (07-15), Ohio State (02-10), Oklahoma (00-08), Penn State (67-75), and Notre Dame (41-49) are tied for 20th.

Note that Bama's and Ohio State's streaks are active. Here are the active streaks:

18 Bama - will catch FSU (87-04) for 3rd if they finish 2026 ranked. Will catch M (85-04) for 2nd if they finish 2026 and 2027 ranked. Would have to finish ranked every year through 2040 to catch Nebraska (69-01) for 1st.
14 Ohio State - Will move into 6th alone if they finish 2026 ranked. Will catch USC (67-82) for 5th if they finish 2026 and 2027 ranked.
9 Georgia
9 Notre Dame
5 Oregon
4 Texas
3 Mississippi
2 BYU
2 Indiana
2 Miami, FL

medinabuckeye1 · « **Reply #10 on:** September 04, 2026, 11:05:00 AM »

The aforementioned site that I use tracks both what @FearlessF just posted (streaks of seasons finishing ranked) and also streaks of seasons ranked in at least one poll. Here is that list (active streaks in bold):

59 Ohio State 68-26
45 Bama 59-03
43 Notre Dame 64-06
42 Florida State 77-18
41 Nebraska 63-03
40 Michigan 68-07
39 USC 62-00
34 Florida 80-13
34 Penn State 67-00
31 UCLA 65-95
30 Georgia 98-26
30 Oklahoma 66-95
29 Oregon 98-26
28 Oklahoma 99-26
27 LSU 00-26
27 Wisconsin 97-23
27 Miami, FL 80-06
27 Washington 77-03
26 Notre Dame 36-61
25 USC 02-26
24 Tennessee 85-08
22 VaTech 93-14
22 Michigan State 48-69
21 Michigan 38-58
20 Bama 07-26
20 Texas 94-13
19 BoiseSt 02-20
19 Texas 67-85
18 aTm 85-02
18 Ohio State 48-65
17 OkSU 08-24
17 ASU 68-84
16 Notre Dame 11-26
16 Colorado 88-03
16 GaTech 51-66
16 Oklahoma 45-60
15 Clemson 11-25
15 TCU 05-19
15 Georgia 75-89
15 Dook 43-57
15 Penn 39-53
13 Utah 14-26
13 Mississippi 52-64
12 Michigan 15-26
12 Auburn 00-11
12 KSU 93-04
12 Clemson 86-97
12 Pittsburgh 73-84
11 Penn State 16-26
11 Texas 16-26
11 Stanford 09-19
11 WVU 02-12
11 Tennessee 65-75
11 Ohio State 36-46

FWIW, I'm going to promote my alma mater: We are in the 91st year of AP Polls. Ohio State has been ranked in all but three of those years:

Ohio State was ranked in each of the first 11 years (36-46).
Ohio State was NOT ranked at any point during 1947.
Ohio State was ranked 18 straight years (48-65).
Ohio State was NOT ranked at any point during 1966 and 1967 (this was during the 10-team era).
Ohio State has been ranked in each of the last 59 years (68-26).

Final note on this:
Clemson's streak is the only one in jeopardy. The Tigers were ranked at least once in each of the 15 years from 2011-2025 but they are NOT ranked in the preseason poll. They are "26th" in that they are first among "others receiving votes" and only 5 points behind #5 Mizzou but they open their season tomorrow night as a 10.5 point underdog in Baton Rouge against #11 LSU.

FearlessF · « **Reply #11 on:** September 04, 2026, 11:10:43 AM »

how did I know you would find something to post that had tOSU at #1 and UNL @ #5???

medinabuckeye1 · « **Reply #12 on:** September 04, 2026, 12:07:00 PM »

Quote from: FearlessF on July 28, 2026, 09:01:11 AM

On this subject . . .
Eight B1G teams are currently ranked:

1 Ohio State
2 Oregon
6 Indiana
14 USC
16 Michigan
17 Washington
18 Penn State
22 Iowa

For the other (checks notes) 10, here is how many polls have been released since they were last ranked:

9 Illinois #23 on 10/19/25 then lost at UDub and fell out.
10 Nebraska #25 on 10/12/25 then lost at MN and fell out.
41 UCLA #20 on 10/29/23 then lost at Zona and fell out.
49 Wisconsin #19 on 9/5/23 then lost at WSU and fell out.
62 Minnesota #21 on 9/25/22 then lost at home to PU and fell out.
64 Michigan State #11 on 9/11/22 then lost at WDub and fell out.
75 Purdue #25 on 10/17/21 then lost at home to UW and fell out.
83 Northwestern #10 in the 2020 final poll.
114 Maryland #21 on 9/8/19 (September Maryland!) then lost at Temple and fell out.
218 Rutgers #21 on 11/18/2012 then lost at Pitt and fell out.

ManHawk · « **Reply #13 on:** September 04, 2026, 01:10:08 PM »

Quote from: medinabuckeye1 on September 04, 2026, 12:07:00 PM

On this subject . . .
Eight B1G teams are currently ranked:
1 Ohio State
2 Oregon
6 Indiana
14 USC
16 Michigan
17 Washington
18 Penn State
22 Iowa
For the other (checks notes) 10, here is how many polls have been released since they were last ranked:
9 Illinois #23 on 10/19/25 then lost at UDub and fell out.
10 Nebraska #25 on 10/12/25 then lost at MN and fell out.
41 UCLA #20 on 10/29/23 then lost at Zona and fell out.
49 Wisconsin #19 on 9/5/23 then lost at WSU and fell out.
62 Minnesota #21 on 9/25/22 then lost at home to PU and fell out.
64 Michigan State #11 on 9/11/22 then lost at WDub and fell out.
75 Purdue #25 on 10/17/21 then lost at home to UW and fell out.
83 Northwestern #10 in the 2020 final poll.
114 Maryland #21 on 9/8/19 (September Maryland!) then lost at Temple and fell out.
218 Rutgers #21 on 11/18/2012 then lost at Pitt and fell out.

Funny that Purdue was last ranked in 2021 but won the Big Ten West in 2022. But then again I think that was the season where all 7 Big Ten West teams had a mathematical chance to finish in a seven-way 4-5 tie in the conference as late as 2 or 3 games left in the season.

Also interesting that Rutgers has never been ranked since joining the Big Ten in 2014. And it does not look like they will break that streak in 2026 after losing to UMass last night.

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Topic: AP Poll trivia and minutiae heading into 2026

medinabuckeye1

AP Poll trivia and minutiae heading into 2026

Cincydawg

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medinabuckeye1

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medinabuckeye1

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medinabuckeye1

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Cincydawg

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FearlessF

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FearlessF

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medinabuckeye1

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medinabuckeye1

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FearlessF

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medinabuckeye1

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ManHawk

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