I think it is safe to say that the majority of America has a love for college football. Every college football fan wants to see their team rise to the top and enjoy elite success. Not every fan gets that, not every fan gets to enjoy the spoils that a select few do. If you’re a fan of a team like Alabama or Ohio State your team reaches the top of the mountain. They reach the top of the mountain a lot.
While college football is ever-evolving, the AP Poll remains the most valued poll after the season concludes. While the College Football Rankings are the most relevant during the season, they release no such rankings at the conclusion of the season. With the AP Poll still relevant we wanted to look at the teams who have spent the most weeks at #1 in the AP Poll All Time.,
While this list obviously includes the blue bloods like Alabama, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. It also includes some new bloods such as Florida State. The Seminoles are the only program to claim multiple national championships whose program started post-World War II. Many of the programs listed started in the 1800s and have a very proud tradition.
Being number one is very difficult, being #1 multiple times is insane. Yet as you look at the list below there are three teams who have spent weeks at #1 over 100 times. So without further ado, let’s take a look at who made the top ten in this category.
Weeks at #1 in the AP Poll All Time
Alabama 140 Weeks
Ohio State 105 Weeks
Oklahoma 101 Weeks
Notre Dame 98 Weeks
USC 91 Weeks
Florida State 72 Weeks
Nebraska 70 Weeks
Miami 68 Weeks
Texas 45 Weeks
Florida 41 Weeks
My instant reaction when I see this poll is that some teams took advantage of the peaks when they were really good, and Nebraska took advantage in the 80s and 90’s when they were steamrolling teams under Tom Osborne. Florida State took advantage of the late ’80s and ’90s as well as they finished in the Top 4 each year from 1987-2000.
Meanwhile, a team at the top like Alabama is at the top because they have had many great periods throughout its history. Having arguably the best head coaches in their era help with that. Nick Saban and Bear Bryant combined for 12 National Championships. With that many successful seasons, you are bound to have a ton of week-in and week-out success.
Notre Dame is kind of a weird one. The Irish have not spent any time as AP #1 since 2012. Before that, it was in 1993. They stockpiled a ton of #1 rankings in the 1940s.
The state of Florida is proudly represented in this category. In the 1990’s college football went through the state of Florida. In modern-day college football talented recruits in the state of Florida are starting to leave home. We may never see these three teams click at the same time again.
Fun Fact: Georgia Tech claims four national championships, and two of them came during the AP Poll era. Yet, Georgia Tech has never spent a week as AP #1.
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