All polls (1,151 polls):
Team | Appearances | % | Top-10 | % | Top-5 | % | Top-2 | % | #1 | % |
Ohio State | 902 | 78.4% | 622 | 54.0% | 372 | 32.3% | 187 | 16.2% | 105 | 9.1% |
Michigan | 849 | 73.8% | 518 | 45.0% | 291 | 25.3% | 71 | 6.2% | 34 | 3.0% |
Nebraska | 728 | 63.2% | 518 | 45.0% | 296 | 25.7% | 138 | 12.0% | 70 | 6.1% |
Penn State | 630 | 54.7% | 375 | 32.6% | 168 | 14.6% | 66 | 5.7% | 21 | 1.8% |
Michigan State | 398 | 34.6% | 182 | 15.8% | 108 | 9.4% | 63 | 5.5% | 29 | 2.5% |
Wisconsin | 376 | 32.7% | 165 | 14.3% | 49 | 4.3% | 8 | 0.7% | 1 | 0.1% |
Iowa | 318 | 27.6% | 123 | 10.7% | 53 | 4.6% | 20 | 1.7% | 11 | 1.0% |
Purdue | 236 | 20.5% | 83 | 7.2% | 27 | 2.3% | 10 | 0.9% | 5 | 0.4% |
Maryland | 192 | 16.7% | 79 | 6.9% | 45 | 3.9% | 19 | 1.7% | 6 | 0.5% |
Illinois | 181 | 15.7% | 77 | 6.7% | 37 | 3.2% | 5 | 0.4% | 0 | 0.0% |
Northwestern | 180 | 15.6% | 73 | 6.3% | 25 | 2.2% | 11 | 1.0% | 5 | 0.4% |
Minnesota | 160 | 13.9% | 79 | 6.9% | 46 | 4.0% | 25 | 2.2% | 18 | 1.6% |
Indiana | 55 | 4.8% | 15 | 1.3% | 7 | 0.6% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
Rutgers | 37 | 3.2% | 2 | 0.2% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
Final polls (83 final polls):
Team | Appearances | % | Top-10 | % | Top-5 | % | Top-2 | % | #1 | % |
Ohio State | 58 | 69.9% | 38 | 45.8% | 27 | 32.5% | 12 | 14.5% | 5 | 6.0% |
Michigan | 60 | 72.3% | 38 | 45.8% | 15 | 18.1% | 4 | 4.8% | 2 | 2.4% |
Nebraska | 48 | 57.8% | 30 | 36.1% | 13 | 15.7% | 6 | 7.2% | 4 | 4.8% |
Penn State | 42 | 50.6% | 26 | 31.3% | 14 | 16.9% | 5 | 6.0% | 2 | 2.4% |
Michigan State | 27 | 32.5% | 16 | 19.3% | 9 | 10.8% | 5 | 6.0% | 1 | 1.2% |
Wisconsin | 25 | 30.1% | 14 | 16.9% | 3 | 3.6% | 1 | 1.2% | 0 | 0.0% |
Iowa | 23 | 27.7% | 13 | 15.7% | 3 | 3.6% | 1 | 1.2% | 0 | 0.0% |
Purdue | 16 | 19.3% | 5 | 6.0% | 1 | 1.2% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
Maryland | 18 | 21.7% | 5 | 6.0% | 3 | 3.6% | 1 | 1.2% | 1 | 1.2% |
Illinois | 13 | 15.7% | 6 | 7.2% | 3 | 3.6% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
Northwestern | 12 | 14.5% | 5 | 6.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
Minnesota | 14 | 16.9% | 9 | 10.8% | 5 | 6.0% | 4 | 4.8% | 4 | 4.8% |
Indiana | 5 | 6.0% | 2 | 2.4% | 2 | 2.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
Rutgers | 3 | 3.6% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
Ohio State leads in everything except appearances in final polls where they trail Michigan 60-58.
It is interesting to me that Nebraska, Penn State, and Michigan State appear to be a bit more "feast-or-famine" than Michigan. Michigan leads them all substantially in total appearances and final poll appearances but when you look at top-10's, top-5's, and top-2's Michigan falls back relative to those three.
I would have expected a gap between everybody else and IU/RU but I did not expect it to be this large. That said, a big part of that is that the next team ahead of them (Minnesota) would be as bad or worse if we eliminated the first decade or two from this consideration. Ie, nearly all of Minnesota's AP damage was done 50+ years ago.
Number of teams in the AP Poll:
- 20 from 1936-1961
- 10 from 1962-1967
- 20 from 1968-1988
- 25 from 1989-2018
Those changes have an impact on the "appearances" and "final poll appearances" categories but the impact is indeterminate.
Current B1G teams in #1 vs #2 games (overall #1 is 28-20-2 against #1):
- #2 Michigan lost 35-12 to #1 Notre Dame in 1943
- #2 Wisconsin lost 42-37 to #1 USC in the 1963 Rose Bowl (1962 season)
- #2 Michigan State tied #1 Notre Dame 10-10 in 1966
- #1 Purdue beat #2 Notre Dame 37-22 in 1968
- #1 Ohio State beat #2 USC 27-16 in the 1969 Rose Bowl (1968 season)
- #1 Nebraska beat #2 Oklahoma 35-31 in 1971
- #1 Nebraska beat #2 Alabama 38-6 in the 1972 Orange Bowl (1971 season)
- #1 Penn State lost 14-7 to #2 Alabama in the 1979 Sugar Bowl (1978 season)
- #2 Penn State beat #1 Georgia in the 1983 Sugar Bowl (1982 season)
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#1 Iowa beat #2 Michigan 12-10 in 1985 - #2 Penn State beat #1 Miami, FL 14-10 in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl (1986 season)
- #1 Nebraska lost 17-7 to #2 Oklahoma in 1987
- #2 Michigan lost 24-19 to #1 Notre Dame in 1989
- #2 Nebraska lost 18-16 to #1 FSU in the 1994 Orange Bowl (1993 season)
- #1 Nebraska beat #2 Florida 62-24 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl (1995 season)
- #2 Ohio State beat #1 Miami, FL 31-24 in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl (2002 season)
- #1 Ohio State beat #2 Texas 24-7 in 2006
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#1 Ohio State beat #2 Michigan 42-39 in 2006 - #1 Ohio State lost 41-14 to #2 Florida in the 2007 BCSNCG (2006 season)
- #1 Ohio State lost 38-24 to #2 LSU in the 2008 BCSNCG (2007 season)