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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.

After several years of Oklahoma being a solid No. 1, we have a change up top – and at No. 2.

AP College Football Poll, Rankings: Greatest Teams Of All-Time

Based on the final AP rankings from 1935 through to Georgia’s second straight national championship after the 2022 season. Who earned the most all-time recognition from the AP voters?

AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time 26-140 | 1930s | 1940s
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
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AP College Football Poll: 1936 to 2022 Final All-Time Rankings

1 Alabama 1150 (2)

2 Ohio State 1141 (3)

3 Oklahoma 1136 (1)

4 Michigan 1039 (5)

5 Notre Dame 1036 (4)

6 USC 851 (6)

T7 Nebraska 798 (7)

T7 Texas 798 (8)

9 Penn State 721 (9)

10 Tennessee 706 (10)

11 LSU 688 (11)

12 Georgia 682 (12)

13 Florida State 585 (14)

14 Auburn 584 (13)

15 Florida 551 (15)

16 Miami 534 (16)

17 UCLA 498 (17)

18 Clemson 497 (18)

19 Michigan State 472 (19)

20 Arkansas 444 (20)

21 Texas A&M 397 (21)

22 Washington 394 (23)

23 Wisconsin 378 (22)

24 Ole Miss 362 (24)

25 Iowa 344 (25)

AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time 26-140 | 1930s | 1940s
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s

NEXT: AP College Football Rankings: Greatest Programs of All-Time 26 to 140

AP College Football Poll, Rankings: Greatest Programs of All-Time

26 Georgia Tech 330 (26)

27 TCU 313 (T28)

28 Pitt 298 (27)

29 Oregon 291 (31)

30 Oklahoma State 289 (T28)

31 Stanford 284 (30)

32 Colorado 267 (32)

33 Minnesota 252 (33)

34 Maryland 249 (34)

35 Army 246 (35)

36 Arizona State 242 (36)

37 Missouri 236 (37)

38 Virginia Tech 225 (38)

39 Baylor 221 (39)

40 North Carolina 218 (40)

41 Navy 213 (41)

42 West Virginia 208 (42)

43 Duke 207 (43)

44 BYU 200 (44)

45 Cal 198 (45)

46 Houston 192 (46)

47 Syracuse 190 (47)

48 Kansas State 188 (50)

49 Purdue 182 (48)

50 Illinois 177 (49)

AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time 26-140 | 1930s | 1940s
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s

T51 Northwestern 168 (T51)

T51 SMU 168 (T51)

53 Boston College 150 (53)

54 Washington State 139 (54)

55 Utah 132 (59)

56 Oregon State 129 (56)

57 Mississippi State 128 (55)

58 South Carolina 121 (T57)

59 Kentucky 118 (T57)

60 NC State 114 (60)

61 Louisville 109 (61)

62 Texas Tech 104 (62)

T63 Rice 98 (63)

T63 Tulane 98 (69)

65 Kansas 96 (64)

66 Penn 95 (65)

67 Fordham 88 (66)

68 Santa Clara 86 (67)

69 Cincinnati 84 (68)

70 Tulsa 80 (70)

71 Air Force 79 (71)

72 Indiana 77 (72)

73 Arizona 75 (73)

T74 Cornell 68 (T74)

T74 Miami University 68 (T74)

76 Virginia 66 (76)

77 Dartmouth 60 (77)

78 UCF 58 (78)

79 Princeton 55 (79)

80 Yale 54 (80)

81 Holy Cross 52 (81)

82 Wyoming 48 (82)

83 Duquesne 46 (83)

84 Iowa Pre-Flight 44 (84)

85 Villanova 41 (85)

T86 Wake Forest 33 (T86)

T86 William & Mary 33 (T86)

T88 March Field 32 (88)

T88 Utah State 32 (89)

90 Toledo 31 (90)

91 Bainbridge NTS 30 (91)

92 Great Lakes Navy 29 (92)

93 Rutgers 29 (93)

94 Saint Mary’s (CA) Pre-Flight 26 (94)

T95 Iowa State 25 (T95)

T95 Southern Miss 25 (T95)

T97 East Carolina 23 (T97)

T97 Pacific 23 (T97)

T97 Randolph Field 23 (T97)

T100 Louisiana 21 (T100)

T100 Marshall 21 (T100)

AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time 26-140 | 1930s | 1940s
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s

102 Carnegie Mellon 20 (102)

T103 Colorado State 19 (103)

T103 Vanderbilt 19 (104)

105 Del Monte Pre-Flight 18 (105)

106 Fresno State 16 (106)

T107 Georgetown 13 (T107)

T107 Hawaii 13 (T107)

T107 Norman Naval Air Station 13 (T107)

T110 Coastal Carolina 12 (T110)

T110 Columbia 12 (T110)

T110 San Diego State 12 (T110)

T110 San Francisco 12 (T110)

T110 USF 12 (T110)

115 Western Michigan 11 (115)

T116 Boston University 10 (T116)

T116 El Toro Marines 10 (T116)

T118 George Washington 9 (T118)

T118 Hardin-Simmons 9 (T118)

T118 Liberty 9 (T118)

T118 New Mexico State 9 (T118)

T118 Temple 9 (T118)

T123 Colorado College 8 (T123)

T123 Fort Pierce 8 (T123)

T123 Washington & Lee 8 (T123)

T126 Appalachian State 7 (T126)

T126 Delaware 7 (T126)

T126 Lafayette 7 (T126)

T126 San Jose State 7 (T126)

T126 Troy 7 (T126)

T131 Marquette 6 (T131)

T131 Ohio 6 (T131)

T131 Second Air Force 6 (T131)

T131 VMI 6 (T131)

135 Northern Illinois 4 (135)

T136 Ball State 3 (T136)

T136 Bowling Green 3 (T136)

T136 Central Michigan 3 (T136)

139 WKU 2 (139)

140 Buffalo 1 (140)

AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time 26-140 | 1930s | 1940s
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s 

Story originally appeared on College Football News