AP College Football Poll, Rankings: Greatest Programs Of All-Time
According to the AP college football polls, where do all of the teams rank? Here are the top programs of all-time utilizing the AP’s final rankings.
The AP college football rankings have been the most consistent and reliable since 1936. No other ranking system provides a better historical snapshot of the last 90+ seasons. They just keep on marching along.
According to the AP final rankings for each season, how do all the college football teams rank since the start of the poll? According to the AP voters, what are the greatest programs of all-time?
Take all the AP final rankings and use our simple scoring system – the AP national champion in each season gets 25 points, the No. 2 team 24, No. 3 23, and so on down to the bottom.
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: Greatest Teams Of All-Time
Based on the final AP rankings from 1935 through to Georgia’s national championship after the 2021 season. Who earned the most all-time recognition from the AP voters?
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time 26-141 | 1930s | 1940s
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
AP College Football Poll: 2020 to 2021 Final All-Time Rankings
1 Oklahoma 1136
2 Alabama 1129
3 Ohio State 1119
4 Notre Dame 1028
5 Michigan 1016
6 USC 837
7 Nebraska 798
8 Texas 797
9 Penn State 702
10 Tennessee 686
11 LSU 678
12 Georgia 657
13 Auburn 584
14 Florida State 570
15 Florida 551
16 Miami 534
17 Clemson 484
18 UCLA 481
19 Michigan State 472
20 Arkansas 444
21 Texas A&M 397
22 Wisconsin 378
23 Washington 376
24 Ole Miss 362
25 Iowa 344
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time 26-141 | 1930s | 1940s
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
NEXT: AP College Football Rankings: Greatest Programs of All-Time 26 to 141
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: Greatest Programs of All-Time
26 Georgia Tech 330
27 Pitt 294
T28 Oklahoma State 289
T28 TCU 289
30 Stanford 284
31 Oregon 280
32 Colorado 267
33 Minnesota 252
34 Maryland 249
35 Army 246
36 Arizona State 242
37 Missouri 236
38 Virginia Tech 225
39 Baylor 223
40 North Carolina 218
41 Navy 213
42 West Virginia 208
43 Duke 207
44 BYU 200
45 Cal 198
46 Houston 192
47 Syracuse 190
48 Purdue 182
49 Illinois 177
50 Kansas State 176
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s
1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
T51 Northwestern 168
T51 SMU 168
53 Boston College 150
54 Baylor 144
55 Washington State 139
56 Mississippi State 122
57 Oregon State 120
T58 Kentucky 118
T58 South Carolina 118
60 Utah 116
61 NC State 114
62 Louisville 109
63 Texas Tech 104
64 Rice 98
65 Kansas 96
66 Penn 95
67 Fordham 88
68 86
69 Cincinnati 84
70 Tulane 81
71 Tulsa 80
72 Air Force 79
73 Indiana 77
74 Arizona 75
T75 Cornell 68
T75 Miami University 68
77 Virginia 66
78 Dartmouth 60
79 UCLA 58
80 Princeton 55
81 Yale 54
82 Holy Cross 52
83 Wyoming 48
84 Duquesne 46
85 Iowa Pre-Flight 44
86 Villanova 41
T87 Wake Forest 33
T87 William & Mary 33
T89 March Field 32
T89 Utah State 32
91 Toledo 31
92 Bainbridge NTS 30
T93 Great Lakes Navy 29
T93 Rutgers 29
95 Saint Mary’s (CA) Pre-Flight 26
T96 Iowa State 25
T96 Southern Miss 25
T98 East Carolina 23
T98 Pacific 23
T98 Randolph Field 23
T101 Louisiana 21
T101 Marshall 21
103 Carnegie Mellon 20
T104 Colorado State 19
T104 Vanderbilt 19
106 Del Monte Pre-Flight 18
107 Fresno State 14
T108 Georgetown 13
T108 Hawaii 13
T108 Norman Naval Air Station 13
T111 UCLA 12
T111 Coastal Carolina 12
T111 Columbia 12
T111 San Diego State 12
T111 San Francisco 12
T111 USF 12
117 Western Michigan 11
T118 Boston University 10
T118 El Toro Marines 10
T120 George Washington 9
T120 Hardin-Simmons 9
T120 Liberty 9
T120 New Mexico State 9
T120 Temple 9
T125 Colorado College 8
T125 Fort Pierce 8
T125 Washington & Lee 8
T128 Appalachian State 7
T128 Delaware 7
T128 Lafayette 7
T128 San Jose State 7
T132 Marquette 6
T132 Ohio 6
T132 Second Air Force 6
T132 VMI 6
136 Northern Illinois 4
T137 Ball State 3
T137 Bowling Green 3
T137 Central Michigan 3
140 WKU 2
141 Buffalo 1
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s
1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
