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The Power Four => Big Ten => Topic started by: medinabuckeye1 on January 22, 2026, 10:21:02 PM

Title: AP Poll trivia and minutiae after 2025
Post by: medinabuckeye1 on January 22, 2026, 10:21:02 PM

2025 was the 90th year of the AP Poll and, for the first time since 1996 we have a first-time National Champion.  Congratulations Indiana.  Winning their first NC is far from the only accomplishment for the 2025 edition of the Hoosiers:

• The Hoosiers were ranked in all 17 polls this year.  The only other year in which IU was ranked in every poll was 1945.  
• Indiana only had 28 top-10 appearances in the first 89 years of the poll, they had 12 this year moving them from 65th place with 28 to 57th place with 40.  
• Indiana only had 9 top-5 appearances in the first 89 years of the poll, they had 10 this year moving them from 58th place with 9 to 52nd place with 19.  
• Not only had Indiana never won an NC prior to this year, they had never even been ranked #1 in any week.  Now they have two appearances at #1 and they join TCU as the two programs with the fewest appearances at #1 to ever win an NC.  

Here are total appearances from 1936-2024, 2025, and 1936-2025:
(https://i.imgur.com/5BzDBYF.png)

Not much change at the top because, surprise-surprise, the teams that have been ranked the most historically were mostly all ranked all or most of this year as well.  

Title: Re: AP Poll trivia and minutiae after 2025
Post by: medinabuckeye1 on January 22, 2026, 10:22:54 PM

Top-10 appearances:
(https://i.imgur.com/rvv7HTO.png)

Title: Re: AP Poll trivia and minutiae after 2025
Post by: medinabuckeye1 on January 22, 2026, 10:23:38 PM

Top-5 appearances:
(https://i.imgur.com/TIR81fo.png)

Title: Re: AP Poll trivia and minutiae after 2025
Post by: medinabuckeye1 on January 22, 2026, 10:24:04 PM

Appearances at #1:
(https://i.imgur.com/siOyYUK.png)

Title: Re: AP Poll trivia and minutiae after 2025
Post by: medinabuckeye1 on January 22, 2026, 10:24:58 PM

All data from here:  https://www.collegepollarchive.com/football/index.cfm

For each category I have included the all-time top-25 and all teams meeting that category at least once this year.  

Title: Re: AP Poll trivia and minutiae after 2025
Post by: Brutus Buckeye on January 22, 2026, 11:49:13 PM

Nebraska's gotta be sinking like a stone, with these last three hires. 

Title: Re: AP Poll trivia and minutiae after 2025
Post by: ELA on January 22, 2026, 11:50:52 PM

I saw Indiana beat 6 AP top 10 teams this year.  They had previously beaten 10 AP top 10 teams in their history.

Not sure if thats true, but I saw it on the internet.

I also get that 4 of those were in CCG/CFP games, that didnt previously exist.  But in that era, they probably would have played OSU in the regular season, instead of a CCG, and I guess Oregon in the Rose Bowl, instead of the semifinal.  So its still 4.