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5 things to know about the Associated Press poll

Associated Press | File 2012

Auburn plays Alabama annually in one of the nation's most intense rivalries. The photo shows last year's game, called The Iron Bowl, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

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AP Top 25

Numbers after team name refer to record, points and previous place in poll.

1: Alabama (58) 13-1 1,498 1

2: Ohio St. (1) 12-0 1,365 3

3: Oregon 12-1 1,335 2

4: Stanford 12-2 1,294 7

5: Georgia (1) 12-2 1,249 t5

6: South Carolina 11-2 1,154 8

7: Texas A&M 11-2 1,104 t5

8: Clemson 11-2 1,083 11

9: Louisville 11-2 1,042 13

10: Florida 11-2 894 9

11: Florida St. 12-2 845 10

12: LSU 10-3 802 14

13: Oklahoma St. 8-5 755 NR

14: Notre Dame 12-1 748 4

15: Texas 9-4 677 19

16: Oklahoma 10-3 579 15

17: Michigan 8-5 531 24

18: Nebraska 10-4 382 25

19: Boise St. 11-2 328 18

20: TCU 7-6 323 NR

21: UCLA 9-5 286 NR

22: Northwestern 10-3 199 NR

23: Wisconsin 8-6 185 NR

24: Southern Cal 7-6 134 NR

25: Oregon St. 9-4 129 20

Others receiving votes: Michigan St. 95, Baylor 92, Virginia Tech 86, Miami 85, Arizona St. 53, Kansas St. 43, Fresno St. 36, Vanderbilt 19, Washington 17, N. Illinois 16, Mississippi 11, Utah St. 8, Georgia Tech 6, Arizona 3, Cincinnati 3, North Carolina 3, Penn St. 2, BYU 1.

USA Today Top 25 Poll

Numbers after team name refer to record, points and previous place in poll.

1: Alabama (58) 13-1 1,545 1

2: Ohio State (3) 12-0 1,427 NR

3: Oregon 12-1 1,397 2

4: Stanford 12-2 1,262 6

5: Georgia 12-2 1,250 4

6: Texas A&M (1) 11-2 1,215 5

7: South Carolina 11-2 1,136 7

8: Clemson 11-2 1,047 9

9: Louisville 11-2 1,010 13

10: Florida 11-2 930 10

11: Notre Dame 12-1 872 3

12: Florida State 12-2 844 8

13: LSU 10-3 797 12

14: Oklahoma State 8-5 726 NR

15: Texas 9-4 622 18

16: Oklahoma 10-3 620 15

17: Michigan 8-5 589 NR

18: Nebraska 10-4 426 23

19: Boise State 11-2 420 14

20: TCU 7-6 400 NR

21: UCLA 9-5 202 NR

22: Northwestern 10-3 186 16

23: Wisconsin 8-6 172 NR

24: Southern Cal 7-6 165 NR

25: Oregon State 9-4 135 19

Others receiving votes: Kansas State 113; Miami (Fla.) 101; Michigan State 89; Baylor 80; Virginia Tech 65; Fresno State 62; Arizona State 51; Mississippi 32; Vanderbilt 29; Utah State 23; Brigham Young 20; North Carolina 19; Northern Illinois 19; Tulsa 9; Ohio 8; San Jose State 8; Arizona 5; Cincinnati 3; East Carolina 3; Kent State 3; Mississippi State 3; Washington 3; Central Florida 2; Arkansas 1; Arkansas State 1; Rutgers 1; Tennessee 1; Toledo 1.

Ralph D. Russo | Associated Press

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Too low. Too high. Should be in. Should be out.

The Associated Press preseason college football poll is out and the one certainty about the rankings is that outside of fans of No. 1 Alabama, everybody will have a complaint.

Ripping the rankings is a tradition as old as the poll itself. In 1935, AP sports editor Alan J. Gould decided to rank the best teams in the land by himself and put it on the wire, mostly as a conversation starter. The story goes that after he ranked Minnesota, Princeton and Southern Methodist as co-No. 1s at the end of that season, Gopher fans hanged Gould in effigy.

The next year he started letting others vote.

Considering that the Crimson Tide have won three of the last four national titles, including the last two, Ohio State fans shouldn't be too steamed about being relegated to second - at least for now. Wait until the games begin on Thursday.

Here's more things to know about the preseason Top 25:

3, It's a magic number: Ten times in major college football has a team won two straight national championships. None have three-peated. Alabama will try to become the first. The best finish in the AP poll by a team going for its third straight championship is second. Army was No. 2 in 1946 and Notre Dame also finished second in 1948.

Southern Cal was the last back-to-back AP champion in 2003 and '04. With a chance to make a three straight, the Trojans and their two Heisman Trophy winners (Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush) lost 41-38 to Vince Young and Texas in an all-time classic at the Rose Bowl.

Best. Start. Ever: Three schools start this season with their best preseason rankings: Stanford at No. 4, South Carolina at No. 6 and Louisville at No. 9.

Streaking: No. 2 Ohio State has been ranked in the preseason Top 25 each of the last 25 seasons, the longest current streak. The Buckeyes also have the most overall appearances in the AP preseason poll with 60. No. 16 Oklahoma is ranked again, but had a streak of preseason top-10 rankings snapped at 12 years.

Start to finish: The preseason rankings started in 1950, and since then only 10 teams have started No. 1 and won the national championship. The list: Tennessee in 1951; Michigan State in 1952; Oklahoma in 1967, '74, '75 and '85; Alabama in 1978; Florida State in 1993 and '99; and USC in 2004. The Seminoles in 1999 and Trojans on '04 are the only teams to go wire-to-wire as No. 1 from preseason to final poll.

It's been a while: Coming off a 10-3 season and its first bowl victory since 1949, No. 22 Northwestern is ranked in the preseason for the first time since 2001. UCLA is back in the preseason rankings for the first time since 2007, which was also the last time Alabama wasn't ranked in the preseason poll.

Saturday, September 14, 2013