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College Football Dynasties of the AP Poll Era
"Dynasties" is a
popular word for it, though it's rather a silly term-- what we're
talking about here is college football's greatest consecutive-year runs
during the AP poll era (1936-2025). For this purpose, I will naturally
be using the
repaired AP polls, as they are more accurate than the originals. I will not be going by straight records except to break ties.
I have also put together top 25s from before the AP poll started, 1901-1935,
and if you go back to 1901, one program produced better
consecutive-year runs than a lot of the "dynasties" I list below. That
program is Yale 1901-1910. However, college football was much, much
smaller-scale in that decade than it is now, and there was far less
national parity with the East, and so I don't think that a "dynasty"
from that time period is as impressive as those from more recent times.
Still, I go ahead and add a word on Yale 1901-1910 below for each
consecutive-year run where they were the best 1901-present.
Greatest 3-Year Runs
No team has
finished #1 for 3 straight years in either the original or fixed AP
polls, so the best 3-year runs during the AP poll era belong to a trio
of teams that finished #1 twice and #2 once in a 3 year span. A 4th
team did it in the original AP poll, but not in the fixed polls.
Army did it first, finishing #1 in 1944, repeating in 1945, then
finishing #2 in 1946. However, they were 9-0-1 in 1946, tying #1 Notre
Dame, so I'm going to call this the best 3-year run of the AP poll era.
They were 27-0-1 during the 3 years, and featured a pair of Heisman
Trophy running backs, Glenn Davis ("Mr. Outside") and Doc Blanchard
("Mr. Inside"). Of course, Army had the advantage of being able to
literally draft great players from other teams during WWII.
Miami-Florida came next, finishing #1 in 1987 and 1989, and #2 in
1988. They were 34-2 during those 3 years, losing to #1 Notre Dame in
1988 and also taking an upset loss to #3 Florida State (who was 10-2)
in 1989.
Alabama is our third program to do it, finishing #1 in 2015 and 2017,
and #2 in 2016. They took exactly one loss in each of those seasons,
for a total of 41-3.
Southern Cal did it in the original AP polls 2003-2005, finishing
#1 in 2003 and 2004, then #2 in 2005. However, I knocked them back into
a tie with LSU for the 2003 fixed AP poll, leaving USC half a rating point behind Army, Miami, and Alabama's 3-year runs. The Trojans were 37-2 during their run.
Yale 1905-1907
If we add the
top 25s I put together 1901-1935 with the fixed AP Polls 1936-present,
the only program that has ever finished #1 for three straight years
since 1901 is Yale 1905-1907. Yale finished 10-0 in 1905, then 9-0-1 in
both 1906 and 1907, for a total of 28-0-2.
Greatest 4-Year Runs
Those
1980s Miami-Florida and recent Alabama teams are back for the best
4-year runs, and we have a trio again, as they are once again joined by
a program from the 1940s.
For Miami-Florida, add to the above years 1986, when they finished
#2 (upset by #1 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl). They were 45-3 1986-1989.
For Alabama, add to the above years 2018, when they finished #2. They were 55-4 2015-2018.
The team that
tied this effort was not Army this time, but Notre Dame, who finished
#1, #2, #2, and #1 in the fixed AP polls for 1946-1949. However, they
edge out Miami and Alabama's efforts because they were 36-0-2 during that time, and
they were ranked #1 in the original 1947 AP poll. I knocked them to #2
in the fixed poll for that year
(explanation in that article), but they were actually a viable choice
for #1, and for that reason, as well as their superior win-loss record,
I'll go ahead and crown Notre Dame's 1946-1949 run as the best.
Yale 1904-1907
There was one
better 4-year run if we go back to 1901. Yale finished #2 in 1904,
then, as covered above, they were #1 to end the next 3 seasons. They
were 38-1-2 over these 4 seasons.
Greatest Runs from 5 to 7 Years
Miami-Florida
separates itself from the rest when it comes to the best runs of 5 to 7
years. For 5-year runs, 1986-1990 and 1987-1991, Miami collected 121 rating points
(average rating #2). The 7-year run is 1986-1992:
1986: #2
1987: #1
1988: #2
1989: #1
1990: #3
1991: #2
1992: #3
However, though they had a lower total of ranking points, Alabama
forged a 7 year streak 2011-2017 that included a far superior 4 #1
finishes!
Yale 1902-1908
If we go back to
1901, Yale had better 5, 6, and 7 year runs than Miami had (1903-1907,
1902-1907, and 1902-1908). Here is how they finished in those years:
1902: #1
1903: #2
1904: #2
1905: #1
1906: #1
1907: #1
1908: #3
Greatest Runs from 8 to 13 Years
The greatest 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13-year runs have happened in recent years: Alabama 2011-2018, 2011-2019, 2011-2020, 2011-2021, 2011-2022, and 2011-2023. Here are Alabama's finishes in these seasons:
2011: #1
2012: #1
2013: #6
2014: #4
2015: #1
2016: #2
2017: #1
2018: #2
2019: #6
2020: #1
2021: #2
2022: #6
2023: #4
Yale 1901-1910
If we go back to
1901, Yale had better 8, 9, and 10 year runs than Alabama had
(1902-1909, 1901-1909, and 1901-1910). However, Alabama was still
better than early-20th-century Yale for runs of 11 years and beyond.
Here is how Yale finished throughout their great decade run:
1901: #4
1902: #1
1903: #2
1904: #2
1905: #1
1906: #1
1907: #1
1908: #3
1909: #1
1910: #8
Greatest Run of 14 Years
Florida State has the best run of 14 years. Some
say the greatest streak in college football history is Oklahoma's 47
game winning streak in the mid-1950s, but in my opinion, Florida
State's 14 year streak of top 4 finishes in the AP poll 1987-2000 is
much more remarkable. They dropped to #5 in the fixed poll for 1994,
but still, 14 straight years of finishing in the top 5 is something no
other team has accomplished. Here's how they
finished over those 14 years:
1987: #2
1988: #3
1989: #3
1990: #4
1991: #3
1992: #2
1993: #1
1994: #5
1995: #4
1996: #2/3
1997: #3
1998: #3
1999: #1
2000: #3
Of course, Alabama's best 14-year run (incorporating 2008-2021 or 2009-2022), while
it had a lower total ranking points, included a far superior 6 #1 finishes.
Greatest Runs of 15 to 18 Years
For
the best 15, 16, 17, and 18-year runs, we are back to Alabama 2008-present. We've all been watching history unfold year by year!
2008: #6
2009: #1
2010: #10
2011: #1
2012: #1
2013: #6
2014: #4
2015: #1
2016: #2
2017: #1
2018: #2
2019: #6
2020: #1
2021: #2
2022: #6
2023: #4
2024: #15
2025: #11
And Alabama's current run is likely not done yet. If they finish
ranked in the top 25 at all next year, they will surpass Florida State
for best 19-year run.
Greatest Runs of 19 and 20 Years
Because
Alabama was unranked in 2007, and I don't want to include any unranked
seasons in a "dynasty," we are back to Florida State for the best runs
of 19 and 20 years. The heart of this run is the 14 seasons I listed
above under "Greatest Run of 14 Years." FSU was not nearly so
strong before or after that time, but they were rated every year
1982-2005, and they were so strong during the 1987-2000 period that
their total rating points are the best ever for 19 and 20 straight
years (among programs that were rated each year during the time
period in question).