AP Rankings Compilation for 5, 10, & 25 Years

[Juniper_Run]

For those who aren't familiar with this annual post, I keep a spreadsheet of AP final rankings and give every team points based on a simple system of 25 for a first place finish, 24 for second, all the way down to 1 point for a 25th place finish. It's interesting to see the rise and fall of programs over time. Here's how all the teams stack up if you add up the points for the past 5 years, 10 years, and 25 years:

Past 5 Years:

1 Georgia (113)

2 Alabama (109)

3 Ohio St. (105)

4 Michigan (79)

5 Clemson (78)

6 Notre Dame (73)

7 Oklahoma (66)

8 Oregon (56)

T9 LSU (49)

T9 Penn St. (49)

11 Cincinnati (45)

12 Washington (42)

13 Utah (40)

T14 FSU (35)

T14 OK St (35)

16 Baylor (34)

17 Florida (33)

T18 Ole Miss (32)

T18 Texas (32)

20 Tennessee (29)

21 Iowa (26)

22 TCU (24)

T23 BYU (22)

T23 Texas A&M (22)

25 Louisiana (21)



Past 10 Years:

1 Alabama (229)

2 Ohio St. (216)

3 Clemson (185)

4 Georgia (173)

5 Oklahoma (153)

6 Notre Dame (124)

7 Michigan (121)

8 LSU (100)

9 Penn St. (95)

T10 Oregon (87)

T10 Washington (87)

12 FSU (86)

13 TCU (83)

T14 Mich St. (69)

T14 Wisconsin (69)

16 Ok St. (68)

17 Baylor (66)

18 USC (62)

T19 Ole Miss (57)

T19 Utah (57)

21 Texas (49)

22 Cincinnati (47)

23 Iowa (44)

24 Stanford (43)

T25 Tennessee (37)

T25 UCF (37)



Past 25 Years:

1 Alabama (440)

2 Ohio St. (432)

3 Oklahoma (384)

4 Georgia (338)

5 LSU (300)

6 Oregon (271)

7 USC (257)

8 Michigan (254)

9 Texas (251)

10 Clemson (248)

11 Florida (238)

12 FSU (235)

13 Notre Dame (197)

14 TCU (186)

15 Wisconsin (184)

16 Penn St. (180)

17 Va Tech (173)

18 Auburn (167)

19 Miami (159)

20 Boise St (156)

21 Mich St. (140)

22 Stanford (128)

T23 Iowa (123)

T23 Ok. St. (123)

25 Kansas St. (121)

 

[Golson5]

For those who aren't familiar with this annual post, I keep a spreadsheet of AP final rankings and give every team points based on a simple system of 25 for a first place finish, 24 for second, all the way down to 1 point for a 25th place finish. It's interesting to see the rise and fall of programs over time. Here's how all the teams stack up if you add up the points for the past 5 years, 10 years, and 25 years:

Past 5 Years:

1 Georgia (113)

2 Alabama (109)

3 Ohio St. (105)

4 Michigan (79)

5 Clemson (78)

6 Notre Dame (73)

7 Oklahoma (66)

8 Oregon (56)

T9 LSU (49)

T9 Penn St. (49)

11 Cincinnati (45)

12 Washington (42)

13 Utah (40)

T14 FSU (35)

T14 OK St (35)

16 Baylor (34)

17 Florida (33)

T18 Ole Miss (32)

T18 Texas (32)

20 Tennessee (29)

21 Iowa (26)

22 TCU (24)

T23 BYU (22)

T23 Texas A&M (22)

25 Louisiana (21)



Past 10 Years:

1 Alabama (229)

2 Ohio St. (216)

3 Clemson (185)

4 Georgia (173)

5 Oklahoma (153)

6 Notre Dame (124)

7 Michigan (121)

8 LSU (100)

9 Penn St. (95)

T10 Oregon (87)

T10 Washington (87)

12 FSU (86)

13 TCU (83)

T14 Mich St. (69)

T14 Wisconsin (69)

16 Ok St. (68)

17 Baylor (66)

18 USC (62)

T19 Ole Miss (57)

T19 Utah (57)

21 Texas (49)

22 Cincinnati (47)

23 Iowa (44)

24 Stanford (43)

T25 Tennessee (37)

T25 UCF (37)



Past 25 Years:

1 Alabama (440)

2 Ohio St. (432)

3 Oklahoma (384)

4 Georgia (338)

5 LSU (300)

6 Oregon (271)

7 USC (257)

8 Michigan (254)

9 Texas (251)

10 Clemson (248)

11 Florida (238)

12 FSU (235)

13 Notre Dame (197)

14 TCU (186)

15 Wisconsin (184)

16 Penn St. (180)

17 Va Tech (173)

18 Auburn (167)

19 Miami (159)

20 Boise St (156)

21 Mich St. (140)

22 Stanford (128)

T23 Iowa (123)

T23 Ok. St. (123)

25 Kansas St. (121)

Yeah. Seems about right with the perception I at least have with the program

We're a top 6 to 10 team over the last 10 years. Really good, just not elite.... yet

I think with MF recruiting and making good coaching hires we can jump into that elite area

 

[sjb75]

Yeah. Seems about right with the perception I at least have with the program

We're a top 6 to 10 team over the last 10 years. Really good, just not elite.... yet

I think with MF recruiting and making good coaching hires we can jump into that elite area

Notre Dame does not recruit as well as Georgia, Ohio St., or Alabama annually.

And frankly, I do not see that changing.

 

[Golson5]

Notre Dame does not recruit as well as Georgia, Ohio St., or Alabama annually.

And frankly, I do not see that changing.

They don't have to to become elite.

They have to recruit really well. Check under MF

They have to get and retain top coaches and develop them. This is not a check yet but certainly could

They need top level QB play which we havent had in over 15 years. Leonard, Angeli, Minchey, Carr, Knight, and they are already on really top guys in the 26 class. Another one that can be checked certainly if it keeps trending

So, Im a MF fan and I think he has everything coming into place to compete for a NC for years to come. He needs to elevate his performance still which I see him doing. The pressure should be on this year and he has to deliver

Should be exciting as a ND fan

 

[sjb75]

They don't have to to become elite.

They have to recruit really well. Check under MF

They have to get and retain top coaches and develop them. This is not a check yet but certainly could

They need top level QB play which we havent had in over 15 years. Leonard, Angeli, Minchey, Carr, Knight, and they are already on really top guys in the 26 class. Another one that can be checked certainly if it keeps trending

So, Im a MF fan and I think he has everything coming into place to compete for a NC for years to come. He needs to elevate his performance still which I see him doing. The pressure should be on this year and he has to deliver

Should be exciting as a ND fan

Winning 4 games will be extremely difficult.

 

[Golson5]

Winning 4 games will be extremely difficult.

For everyone, yes we agree

 

[Juniper_Run]

As simple as this points system is, it can be revealing about where teams stand. If you look at the 10-year list, for example, it accurately (IMO) shows that the gap between #1 and #6 is greater than the gap between #6 and #25.

It's true that we have achieved more than all but a handful of teams in the recent past. It's also true that we have a substantial gap to cover before truly competing at the top.

 

[HarlemIrish]

For those who aren't familiar with this annual post, I keep a spreadsheet of AP final rankings and give every team points based on a simple system of 25 for a first place finish, 24 for second, all the way down to 1 point for a 25th place finish. It's interesting to see the rise and fall of programs over time. Here's how all the teams stack up if you add up the points for the past 5 years, 10 years, and 25 years:

Past 5 Years:

1 Georgia (113)

2 Alabama (109)

3 Ohio St. (105)

4 Michigan (79)

5 Clemson (78)

6 Notre Dame (73)

7 Oklahoma (66)

8 Oregon (56)

T9 LSU (49)

T9 Penn St. (49)

11 Cincinnati (45)

12 Washington (42)

13 Utah (40)

T14 FSU (35)

T14 OK St (35)

16 Baylor (34)

17 Florida (33)

T18 Ole Miss (32)

T18 Texas (32)

20 Tennessee (29)

21 Iowa (26)

22 TCU (24)

T23 BYU (22)

T23 Texas A&M (22)

25 Louisiana (21)



Past 10 Years:

1 Alabama (229)

2 Ohio St. (216)

3 Clemson (185)

4 Georgia (173)

5 Oklahoma (153)

6 Notre Dame (124)

7 Michigan (121)

8 LSU (100)

9 Penn St. (95)

T10 Oregon (87)

T10 Washington (87)

12 FSU (86)

13 TCU (83)

T14 Mich St. (69)

T14 Wisconsin (69)

16 Ok St. (68)

17 Baylor (66)

18 USC (62)

T19 Ole Miss (57)

T19 Utah (57)

21 Texas (49)

22 Cincinnati (47)

23 Iowa (44)

24 Stanford (43)

T25 Tennessee (37)

T25 UCF (37)



Past 25 Years:

1 Alabama (440)

2 Ohio St. (432)

3 Oklahoma (384)

4 Georgia (338)

5 LSU (300)

6 Oregon (271)

7 USC (257)

8 Michigan (254)

9 Texas (251)

10 Clemson (248)

11 Florida (238)

12 FSU (235)

13 Notre Dame (197)

14 TCU (186)

15 Wisconsin (184)

16 Penn St. (180)

17 Va Tech (173)

18 Auburn (167)

19 Miami (159)

20 Boise St (156)

21 Mich St. (140)

22 Stanford (128)

T23 Iowa (123)

T23 Ok. St. (123)

25 Kansas St. (121)

Nice work!

 

[HarlemIrish]

For those who aren't familiar with this annual post, I keep a spreadsheet of AP final rankings and give every team points based on a simple system of 25 for a first place finish, 24 for second, all the way down to 1 point for a 25th place finish. It's interesting to see the rise and fall of programs over time. Here's how all the teams stack up if you add up the points for the past 5 years, 10 years, and 25 years:

Past 5 Years:

1 Georgia (113)

2 Alabama (109)

3 Ohio St. (105)

4 Michigan (79)

5 Clemson (78)

6 Notre Dame (73)

7 Oklahoma (66)

8 Oregon (56)

T9 LSU (49)

T9 Penn St. (49)

11 Cincinnati (45)

12 Washington (42)

13 Utah (40)

T14 FSU (35)

T14 OK St (35)

16 Baylor (34)

17 Florida (33)

T18 Ole Miss (32)

T18 Texas (32)

20 Tennessee (29)

21 Iowa (26)

22 TCU (24)

T23 BYU (22)

T23 Texas A&M (22)

25 Louisiana (21)



Past 10 Years:

1 Alabama (229)

2 Ohio St. (216)

3 Clemson (185)

4 Georgia (173)

5 Oklahoma (153)

6 Notre Dame (124)

7 Michigan (121)

8 LSU (100)

9 Penn St. (95)

T10 Oregon (87)

T10 Washington (87)

12 FSU (86)

13 TCU (83)

T14 Mich St. (69)

T14 Wisconsin (69)

16 Ok St. (68)

17 Baylor (66)

18 USC (62)

T19 Ole Miss (57)

T19 Utah (57)

21 Texas (49)

22 Cincinnati (47)

23 Iowa (44)

24 Stanford (43)

T25 Tennessee (37)

T25 UCF (37)



Past 25 Years:

1 Alabama (440)

2 Ohio St. (432)

3 Oklahoma (384)

4 Georgia (338)

5 LSU (300)

6 Oregon (271)

7 USC (257)

8 Michigan (254)

9 Texas (251)

10 Clemson (248)

11 Florida (238)

12 FSU (235)

13 Notre Dame (197)

14 TCU (186)

15 Wisconsin (184)

16 Penn St. (180)

17 Va Tech (173)

18 Auburn (167)

19 Miami (159)

20 Boise St (156)

21 Mich St. (140)

22 Stanford (128)

T23 Iowa (123)

T23 Ok. St. (123)

25 Kansas St. (121)

What a disparity Irish to top 3.

 

[chaseball]

AP Poll is all about W-L record. It's going to reward teams for having good win loss record while penalizing teams that play tougher competition week in and week out (regardless of how good said team is).

Without an adjustment made for opponent quality, and to a lesser extent, without an adjustment made for luck, this data is futile.

 

[Granite45]

AP Poll is all about W-L record. It's going to reward teams for having good win loss record while penalizing teams that play tougher competition week in and week out (regardless of how good said team is).

Without an adjustment made for opponent quality, and to a lesser extent, without an adjustment made for luck, this data is futile.

All ranking systems are effectively futile; all depend on auumptions made with no real testable data to confirm the provided rankings.

 

[Classic Irish]

For those who aren't familiar with this annual post, I keep a spreadsheet of AP final rankings and give every team points based on a simple system of 25 for a first place finish, 24 for second, all the way down to 1 point for a 25th place finish. It's interesting to see the rise and fall of programs over time. Here's how all the teams stack up if you add up the points for the past 5 years, 10 years, and 25 years:

Past 5 Years:

1 Georgia (113)

2 Alabama (109)

3 Ohio St. (105)

4 Michigan (79)

5 Clemson (78)

6 Notre Dame (73)

7 Oklahoma (66)

8 Oregon (56)

T9 LSU (49)

T9 Penn St. (49)

11 Cincinnati (45)

12 Washington (42)

13 Utah (40)

T14 FSU (35)

T14 OK St (35)

16 Baylor (34)

17 Florida (33)

T18 Ole Miss (32)

T18 Texas (32)

20 Tennessee (29)

21 Iowa (26)

22 TCU (24)

T23 BYU (22)

T23 Texas A&M (22)

25 Louisiana (21)



Past 10 Years:

1 Alabama (229)

2 Ohio St. (216)

3 Clemson (185)

4 Georgia (173)

5 Oklahoma (153)

6 Notre Dame (124)

7 Michigan (121)

8 LSU (100)

9 Penn St. (95)

T10 Oregon (87)

T10 Washington (87)

12 FSU (86)

13 TCU (83)

T14 Mich St. (69)

T14 Wisconsin (69)

16 Ok St. (68)

17 Baylor (66)

18 USC (62)

T19 Ole Miss (57)

T19 Utah (57)

21 Texas (49)

22 Cincinnati (47)

23 Iowa (44)

24 Stanford (43)

T25 Tennessee (37)

T25 UCF (37)



Past 25 Years:

1 Alabama (440)

2 Ohio St. (432)

3 Oklahoma (384)

4 Georgia (338)

5 LSU (300)

6 Oregon (271)

7 USC (257)

8 Michigan (254)

9 Texas (251)

10 Clemson (248)

11 Florida (238)

12 FSU (235)

13 Notre Dame (197)

14 TCU (186)

15 Wisconsin (184)

16 Penn St. (180)

17 Va Tech (173)

18 Auburn (167)

19 Miami (159)

20 Boise St (156)

21 Mich St. (140)

22 Stanford (128)

T23 Iowa (123)

T23 Ok. St. (123)

25 Kansas St. (121)

Best part of this: southern cal not in the top 10 in the last five years.

 

[Juniper_Run]

Best part of this: southern cal not in the top 10 in the last five years.

Very satisfying indeed. Late in the Pete Carroll era it felt like we would never win against them again for all time. Now we've been the better program for 10+ years.

 

[IrishExpert2288]

Davie 3 out of 5 years unranked
Willingham 2 out of 3 years unranked
Weis 3 out of 5 years unranked

BK first 2 years ND was unranked as he was cleaning up the dumpster fire left behind by Mo, Larry and Curly

BK & MF from 2012 to 2023 has had ranked every year except 2016.

 

[ivan brunetti]

One time I compiled all the end of year AP results for the eight blue bloods. The problem I had with the results is that it treated all non AP years the same. So you would have a 7-5 year count the same as an 0-12 season. In the end, winning percentage modified by general SOS (example: SEC play not equal to CUSA play) is a better measure IMO.

 

[Juniper_Run]

One time I compiled all the end of year AP results for the eight blue bloods. The problem I had with the results is that it treated all non AP years the same. So you would have a 7-5 year count the same as an 0-12 season. In the end, winning percentage modified by general SOS (example: SEC play not equal to CUSA play) is a better measure IMO.

No arguments with you here. We had a Kentucky fan on this board a year or two ago bragging about how much better his team was because they play "an SEC schedule." I listed a comparison of winning percentages and SOS over the past five years. He opted to end the conversation there

The other big flaw in my system is that it doesn't have any special bonus for national titles. A team has certainly accomplished more by finishing 1st and 9th than by finishing 5th and 5th. But I've chosen to prioritize simplicity in posting these numbers each year.

 

[Pennick4]

Yawn.

 

[sjb75]

Very satisfying indeed. Late in the Pete Carroll era it felt like we would never win against them again for all time. Now we've been the better program for 10+ years.

2010. I was there. In the rain.

 

[McCallen ND NYC]

AP Poll is all about W-L record. It's going to reward teams for having good win loss record while penalizing teams that play tougher competition week in and week out (regardless of how good said team is).

Without an adjustment made for opponent quality, and to a lesser extent, without an adjustment made for luck, this data is futile.

AP Poll isn’t all about W-L record. For example, Liberty finished ranked #25 at 13-1 while Texas finished #3 at 12-2. Notre Dame was ranked much better than Liberty with 3 losses. SOS is a factor in the AP Poll.

The original poster’s analysis is a good indication of the absolute and relative position of a college football program over the specified time periods.

 

[chaseball]

AP Poll isn’t all about W-L record. For example, Liberty finished ranked #25 at 13-1 while Texas finished #3 at 12-2. Notre Dame was ranked much better than Liberty with 3 losses. SOS is a factor in the AP Poll.

The original poster’s analysis is a good indication of the absolute and relative position of a college football program over the specified time periods.

Luck and opponent quality don't carry the kind of weight they should in the AP Poll (despite having a major impact on a program throughout the season) which is why a metric/ranking system like F+ is so much better for these type of exercises.

AP Poll pretty much treats every team in the P5 like if they are playing the same quality of opponents with the same amount of luck and will simply move a team up for a win, and move a team down for a loss. This is 99% of the formula in this poll which is why anybody with any critical thinking skills and some common sense don't even bother looking at this antiquated poll anymore.

 

[Golson5]

Luck and opponent quality don't carry the kind of weight they should in the AP Poll (despite having a major impact on a team's performance/on a game during the season) which is why a metric/ranking system like F+ is so much better for these type of exercises.

F- is the worst system out there that ranks teams

 

[chaseball]

Luck and opponent quality don't carry the kind of weight they should in the AP Poll (despite having a major impact on a program throughout the season) which is why a metric/ranking system like F+ is so much better for these type of exercises.

AP Poll pretty much treats every team in the P5 like if they are playing the same quality of opponents with the same amount of luck and will simply move a team up for a win, and move a team down for a loss. This is 99% of the formula in this poll which is why anybody with any critical thinking skills and some common sense don't even bother looking at this antiquated poll anymore.

To add to this post:

If you took ND out of their crap-ACC schedule and crap rivalry schedule (of late), and instead put them in the SEC where they played teams like: LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M, Tennessee, etc. week in and week out, how much do you think their AP Poll ranking would suffer?

Based on the F+ data, ND has basically been a mid-teens ranked team on aggregate since the start of the BK era through last season (with some deviation) but mostly a 15th or so ranked team on aggregate over the last 15 years.

They are about to sign the #12 class in 2024, and have a team-talent ranking of about the same to start the season, and then finish somewhere between 10-15th in the final F+ ranking.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

[NDSMC78]

Luck and opponent quality don't carry the kind of weight they should in the AP Poll (despite having a major impact on a program throughout the season) which is why a metric/ranking system like F+ is so much better for these type of exercises.

AP Poll pretty much treats every team in the P5 like if they are playing the same quality of opponents with the same amount of luck and will simply move a team up for a win, and move a team down for a loss. This is 99% of the formula in this poll which is why anybody with any critical thinking skills and some common sense don't even bother looking at this antiquated poll anymore.

F+ is your pet little rating system. It is a half truth. But go knock yourself out bragging about how great it is.

 

[Juniper_Run]

Based on the F+ data, ND has basically been a mid-teens ranked team on aggregate since the start of the BK era through last season (with some deviation) but mostly a 15th or so ranked team on aggregate over the last 15 years.

You have complained in other threads about posters applying the criteria of achievement-based systems to F+, a predictive system. Now you’re here on this thread, which is clearly about measuring achievements, and you’re touting your favorite predictive system. Please make at least a token effort not to be hypocritical.

 

[McCallen ND NYC]

Luck and opponent quality don't carry the kind of weight they should in the AP Poll (despite having a major impact on a program throughout the season) which is why a metric/ranking system like F+ is so much better for these type of exercises.

AP Poll pretty much treats every team in the P5 like if they are playing the same quality of opponents with the same amount of luck and will simply move a team up for a win, and move a team down for a loss. This is 99% of the formula in this poll which is why anybody with any critical thinking skills and some common sense don't even bother looking at this antiquated poll anymore.

Don’t think you understand how the polls actually work. AP Poll is completely subjective. Do you really think the voters don’t consider SOS and other factors, but only look at W/L?

 

[chaseball]

Don’t think you understand how the polls actually work. AP Poll is completely subjective. Do you really think the voters don’t consider SOS and other factors, but only look at W/L?

It's considered I'm sure to some extent but not nearly as much and as comprehensively as an algorithmic based system like F+ does.