The AP Releases Their Top 100 of All Time

The first Associated Press College Football Poll came out in 1936.  To celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the AP poll they have come out with the top 100 college football programs of all time.

The ranking for the top 100 was based on a formula that assigned points to a program based on their historical performance in past polls.

"To determine the all-time Top 25, the AP formula counted poll appearances (one point) to mark consistency, No. 1 rankings (two points) to acknowledge elite programs and gave a bonus for AP championships (10 points)."

The top 25 is littered with the familiar names that you would expect.  Below is the top ten.

The AP Top 10 All Time

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

2. Oklahoma Sooners

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

4. Alabama Crimson Tide

5. Southern California Trojans

6. Nebraska Cornhuskers

7. Michigan Wolverines

8. Texas Longhorns

9. Florida State Seminoles

10. Florida Gators

You can see the complete list of the top 100 teams here.

The Virginia Tech Hokies find themselves at 31^st place on the all-time list.  Considering that 165 programs have appeared, during the life of the poll, placing in the top 20%, is respectable.  Until VPI captures a National Championship it is hard to look far up the list and argue that the Fighting Gobblers deserve to be ranked much higher on the all-time list.

It is interesting, but not surprising that the perennially overrated Ohio State Buckeyes find themselves at the top of the AP’s all-time rankings.  (YEAH, I SAID IT.)  The four teams ranked directly below OSU either match or have more National Championships than the Buckeyes. What OSU does dominate is the percentage of appearances in polls and, excluding OU and ND, significantly more appearances in the poll as the No. 1 team.

I am not particularly impressed with the list... What do you think about the AP’s all-time Top 100?