TipTop25.com spelled out in helmets
TipTop25.com
YOUR BEST 25
A website devoted to properly ranking
major college football teams
past to present



National Champions

Fixed AP Polls

Annual Top 25 1901-1935

Partial Rankings 1890-1900

About Me

E-mail:
James@TipTop25.com

Baby placing blocksHow to Rate College Football Teams


Whether you are a voter in the AP poll, the coaches' poll, a fan poll, or are just interested in ranking college football teams yourself, I am here to help you get better at it. And judging by various poll results I've seen over the years, chances are you have room for improvement.

Access the entire guide here:  How to Rate College Football Teams

Michigan running back Blake Corum in the national championship game for the 2023 seasonFixing the Final AP College Football Poll for the 2023 Season

Here it is, the final AP poll for the 2023 season, cleansed of logical errors! But before I get to correcting the AP poll's errors, let me make one thing clear. This is not about what I would personally prefer to see in the rankings. I myself would be inclined to rank 11-2 Mississippi and 10-3 LSU ahead of 11-2 Missouri (more on this issue in the linked article), and I would put 10-3 Notre Dame ahead of 10-3 Arizona (also covered in the linked article), just as a couple of examples. But in these cases, the choices the AP poll made are logically viable. This is about fixing only those AP poll choices that are not logically valid or fair.

See who moves up and who moves down here:  Fixing the Final 2023 AP Poll

I have also repaired the errors in all the AP polls going back to the first one in 1936. You can find those repaired polls by clicking the Fixed AP Polls link at the upper left of this page, or by clicking this one right here.

1971 Orange Bowl, Nebraska's winning touchdown to beat LSU 17-12Finally! More National Championship Selections!

As many of you had noticed and lamented via email, I had only written one National Championship article in 6 years. Just been too busy! I would still like to write full articles about each season like I have for 1901-1969, but for now, what I am going to do instead is write partial articles that do nothing more than explain my reasoning for my Mythical National Championship (MNC) selections. Full profiles of the teams and their seasons will have to wait until I have time to write those up.

Here are my latest MNC selections and explanations (more to come)1970 National Championship     1973     1974     1975    1976

   1977     1978     1979     1980     1981    

Here is a list of all my MNC selections for 1901-1981
: National Champions

Greatest College Football Programs of All Time

Here it is, my list of the greatest college football programs of all time (1901 to the present). This list is based on total top-25 ranking points: a program gets 25 points for each #1 finish, 24 for #2, etc., down to 1 point for a #25 finish. For this list I am using my fixed AP polls for the seasons 1936-2023, and I am using my fixed hypothetical AP polls for the seasons 1901-1935.

Who's #1? And who's #162? Hit the link for the entire top-to-bottom list:  Greatest Football Programs of All Time     Now updated for the 2023 season

But wait, that's not all! I've got a few more lists for your perusing pleasure
:

Most Overrated and Underrated Programs in AP Poll History     Now updated for the 2023 season
     -- Also lists the most overrated and underrated programs for each decade going back to the 1980s

Greatest College Football Dynasties of the AP Poll Era     Now updated for the 2023 season

Annual Best Conference List
     Now updated for the 2023 season
     -- The major conference with the best record against nonconference opponents for each season going back to 1920.

Greatest Major-College/FBS Coaches of All Time

I have 2 different lists here of the greatest head coaches of all time, and each list looks very different because each measures something different. First I offer a list of the greatest all-time coaches by winning percentage. This is the best and most accurate such list you will find, as even the NCAA's list has errors in it (all fully explained in the footnotes of the list).

Top Major-College Football Coaches of All Time by Winning Percentage     Now updated for the 2023 season

Next I offer a list of the greatest all-time coaches by top-25 ranking points (25 points for each 1st place finish, 24 for 2nd, etc., down to 1 point for each 25th place finish). For this list I am again using my fixed AP polls for the seasons 1936-2020, I am using my fixed hypothetical AP polls for the seasons 1901-1935, and I am using my partial rankings for the seasons 1890-1900. This list is similar to a list of coaches by total all-time wins, as it emphasizes longevity in addition to success. Indeed, unlike the other list, longevity is crucial to finishing in the top 10 of this list (minimum 25 years as a head coach!).

Top College Football Coaches by Total Ranking Points     Now updated for the 2023 season

Harvard-Yale football game 1901The 1901 College Football National Championship


Who deserves the imaginary trophy for the mythical national championship of 1901, Harvard or Michigan? Or should they share it? The experts of 1901 said Harvard. The experts today say Michigan. Who is right? For many older seasons, there is no clear answer to such questions. But there is a clear answer for 1901.


Take a look at my analysis and I think you'll agree:  1901 National Championship

I have also written articles summarizing the mythical national championship race for each season 1902 through 1969, with more to come. You can find those summaries by clicking the
National Champions link at the upper left of this page. Or this one.

Northwestern's touchdown to beat Minnesota 6-0 in 1936Fixing the Final 1936 AP College Football Poll

Here it is, the very first AP college football poll, fully repaired and made sensible. It took me 2 1/2 years to fix every AP poll. 1936 was a good season for the AP poll to debut, since there was a full-blown controversy at the top of the poll. Minnesota finished #1, but Pittsburgh likely would have finished #1 if the AP had conducted a poll after the bowls, and writers continued to argue about it through the following Spring.

Who should have been the first #1?:  Fixing the Final 1936 AP Poll

1901 Harvard-Yale football game in Harper's1901 College Football Top 25

I've done it! Completed all the top 25s 1901-1935! Woohoo! I'll not be doing earlier ones, as the further you go back, the less nation-wide college football becomes, and the harder it is to find 25 teams worthy of being listed at all.

The "first" top 25 can be found here:  1901 Top 25

I have created hypothetical AP poll top 25s for every season prior to the actual AP poll's debut in 1936, going back to 1901. You can find those here.

Contact the writer at this e-mail address:   James@TipTop25.com