See it: College Football’s First-Ever AP Poll
College football has undergone major changes in recent years with the addition of name and image likeness, the transfer portal, and players having more rights than at any other time previously.
With that said, many of the traditional powers from way back when have remained powers to this day.
However, plenty have not.
While stumbling through some internet research I came across a social media post referencing the first ever College Football Associated Press Poll.
This took place back in October of 1936 and it’d be an understatement to say that things have changed more than slightly since then.
Here is how the first College Football AP Poll looked upon its first release – when it opened with just 20 teams being ranked.
Marquette (3-0)
Marquette hasn’t fielded a football team since 1960 and fun fact: the football team had a different nickname than the rest of the university’s teams as they were known as the Golden Avalanche.
Marquette was 3-0 after a 13-0 win over Kansas State when they appeared at No. 20 in the first AP Poll.
SMU (3-1)
SMU was nearly a half-century from being hit with the NCAA’s “death penalty” when they appeared 19th in the initial AP Poll back in 1936. The Mustangs were fresh off a 16-0 win over Vanderbilt that week.
Tulane (3-0-1)
Tulane was a member of the SEC back when they were ranked 18th in the initial AP Poll. The Green Wave had just dominated Colgate 28-6 on the road before being ranked.
Holy Cross (4-0)
Holy Cross was off to an impressive start in 1936 when they moved to 4-0 after beating Manhattan 13-7 the week previous.
Holy Cross remained as a bigger east coast football power until 1969 when a hepatitis outbreak led to the cancelation of a season, something the program was never the same after.
Fordham (3-0)
Fordham was present in the first AP Poll as the Rams checked in 16th after beating Waynesburg 20-6. Vince Lombardi (above) played on that team for head coach Jim Crowley, a member of Notre Dame’s famed Four Horsemen.
Fordham stopped fielding a team from 1955-1963 before returning in 1964 as a club team.
Nebraska (2-1)
Long before the days of Tom Osborne or Tommie Frazier, Nebraska was in the first AP Poll. The Cornhuskers moved to over .500 with a 13-9 victory over Indiana in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers would go on to finish the season 7-2 and ranked ninth overall.
Texas A&M (4-0)
Texas A&M was off to a hot start at 4-0 and ranked 14th nationally when the first AP Poll came out. The Aggies would struggle to a scoreless tie a week later against Baylor and ultimately finish the year 8-3-1. The Aggies do not claim a national championship since 1939.
LSU (3-0-1)
LSU was the class of the SEC when the first AP Poll was released back in 1936. The Tigers had a shutout victory over Ole Miss the week before and would go on to finish the year 9-1-1 with their only loss coming against Santa Clara in the Sugar Bowl.
St. Mary's (CA) (3-0-1)
They’re mostly known in the college sports world now for usually being Gonzaga’s biggest men’s basketball threat in the West Coast Conference. St. Mary’s College (CA) was ranked 12th nationally after a scoreless tie at San Francisco the week previous.
The program was dropped after the 1950 season before returning as a sanctioned sport again in 1970 at what is now the Division III level.
Duquesne (4-0)
The first AP Poll had a pair of teams from Pittsbrugh ranked in the top 20. It was an undefeated Duquesne team who had just beat the Panthers 7-0 to move to 4-0 who checked in 11th but still behind Pitt.
Voters have clearly had trouble with the head-to-head concept forever.
Yale (3-0)
One of college football’s first powerhouses, Yale, just snuck into the top 10 of the first AP Poll back in October of 1936. Yale would fall to Dartmouth a that week and not return to the AP Poll again the rest of the year.
The Bulldogs made their last appearance in the AP Poll back in 1972.
Yale end Larry Kelly would win the Heisman Trophy that 1936 season, just the second winner ever of the award.
Pittsburgh (3-1)
The Pitt Panthers fell for the first time in 1936 to Duquesne, 7-0. That loss came on Pitt’s home field but despite that, the Panthers still checked in two spots ahead of unbeaten Duquesne in the first ever AP Poll.
Washington (3-1)
Washington fell in Week 1 against a powerful Minnesota team in 1936 but won three-straight to debut in the first AP Poll at No. 8. The Huskies would end up winning the Pacific Coast Conference (eventually the Pac 8, 10, 12) that year and playing Pitt in the Rose Bowl.
Notre Dame (3-0)
Notre Dame put it on Wisconsin 27-0 to move to 3-0 and enter the AP Poll ranked seventh in Mid-October of 1936. The Irish would get routed by Pitt the next week and ultimately finish the season 6-2-1.
Since the AP Poll debuted, Notre Dame is tied with Alabama for the fourth most appearances in its history.
USC (3-0-1)
Have voters had a biased for USC forever? One could argue that seeing as the Trojans were fresh off a scoreless tie against Washington State when they were ranked sixth in the initial AP Poll in 1936. Perhaps the Trojans were worthy of the sixth ranking, but the fact they received one first place vote is however laughable.
Today USC ranks sixth in all-time AP Poll appearances having been in the rankings 813 times.
Purdue (3-0)
Notre Dame was undefeated early in the 1936 season but weren’t the highest ranked team from Indiana as that honor belonged to Purdue. The Boilermakers had just dominated Chicago 35-7. Purdue would get roughed up by Minnesota a week later though and finish the year 5-2-1 overall.
Northwestern (3-0)
Northwestern was undefeated and in the midst of a memorable year when they entered the first AP Poll ranked fourth nationally. Two weeks later they’d upset Minnesota and move to the top spot overall. Northwestern had a chance at a national championship before being routed by Notre Dame 26-6 to close the 1936 season.
Army (3-0)
Army debuted in the AP Poll towards the very top at No. 3, fresh off a 32-7 dismantling of Harvard. The Cadets would fall two weeks later against Colgate however which would be their first of three eventual loses on the season.
Duke (5-0)
Duke was a powerhouse in 1936, starting the year 5-0 before falling at Tennessee on October 24. Led by captain Ace Parker, who would go on to be one of the first stars to succeed in both Major League Baseball and the National Football League, Duke went 9-1 and 7-0 in Southern Conference play.
Minnesota (3-0)
Under the watch of head coach Bernie Bierman, Minnesota was a true powerhouse of the 1930’s. The Golden Gophers were atop the initial AP Poll back in October of 1936 and despite a loss a couple of weeks later against Northwestern, they’d run the table besides that and claim the 1936 national championship.
In all, Minnesota claims seven football national championships with five of them coming between 1934 and 1941. To this day Minnesota remains the last FBS program to win three-straight national championships, culminating with that 1936 crown.
