Ohio State has dominated the AP College Football poll like no other program

USA Today

2 days ago

The old age question of which college football program is "the best" is often a very, very subjective one. After all, how do you measure such things? You can go by conference and national championships, NFL players drafted, winning percentage, number of wins, or when the first snowfall in winter is in the Midwest.
No matter how you slice it, though, Ohio State would pass almost every test or stat you can bring up about a college football program being royalty and in the conversation for the best of all time.
But there's another way to measure success as well, and it has to do with the college football polls, most notably the Associated Press college football poll that has been around since 1936. There are other programs that have more or less been mainstays in the AP Poll, but none of them meet the high bar the Buckeyes have when it comes to several stats and categories related to arguably the most prestigious college football poll in the history of the sport. And the Buckeyes kept a lot of streaks alive by appearing very high in the 2025 AP Preseason Poll released earlier this week.
Let's dive into some numbers that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ohio State has dominated the AP Poll more than any other college football program throughout history. Read it and weep, Michigan.
Longest Active Streaks – AP Preseason Poll Appearances
1. Ohio State – 37 years (1989-present)2. Oklahoma – 26 years (2000-present)3. Georgia – 24 years (2002-present)4. Alabama – 18 years (2008-present)5. Clemson – 14 years (2012-present)
According to a release from the OSU Athletic Department, "Ohio State has appeared in the AP preseason poll 72 of the 76 polls since it was introduced in 1950 – the most of any program in the country. The only years Ohio State was not included were 1966, 1967, 1979, and 1988."
Total Appearances in AP Preseason Poll
1. Ohio State – 722. Oklahoma – 673. USC – 634. Notre Dame – 625. Alabama – 59
From the folks at Ohio State: "The Buckeyes have now been ranked in at least one AP poll for the 58th consecutive season, which is by far the longest active streak in the country and the longest in AP poll history. No other team currently has a stretch longer than 29 consecutive years."
AP Poll Season Appearance Streak
1. Ohio State – 58 seasons (1968-present)2. Georgia – 29 seasons (1997-present)3. Oregon – 28 seasons (1998-present)4. Oklahoma – 27 seasons (1999-present)5. LSU – 26 seasons (2000-present)
Also from the OSU Athletic Department - "In more recent history, Ohio State has begun the season ranked within the top five nine of the last 11 years (the two exceptions were 2016 and 2023 when it came in at No. 6). Between the 2013-25 seasons, Ohio State has earned rankings of No. 2, 5, 1, 6, 2, 5, 5, 2, 4, 2, 6, 2 and 3, respectively. Dating back to 2012, the program has been ranked for 212 consecutive polls in which it's been eligible. That ranks as the fourth-longest streak in poll history.
"No school has appeared in more polls – or a larger percentage of them – than Ohio State."
Total Appearances in AP Polls
1. Ohio State – 1000 (79.9 percent of all polls)2. Michigan – 928 (74.2 percent)3. Oklahoma – 906 (72.4 percent)4. Alabama and Notre Dame – 891 (71.2 percent)6. USC – 819 (65.5 percent)
Say what you want about teams that have had more national titles, conference titles, or whatever stat you want to throw out there, the reality is that there simply hasn't been a more consistent and dominant team in the AP era than YOUR Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State will look to continue to dominate the AP Poll when it kicks off the season against Texas at home on Saturday, Aug. 30. Let the countdown continue ...
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