Breaking down most appearances by school at No. 1 in AP football poll

Since the AP college football poll began in 1936, five teams have stood out over the rest with the most school appearances at the No. 1 spot. On top of the list for all-time appearances, Alabama leads all schools with 137 weeks at the top spot.

Only @AlabamaFTBL, @OhioStateFB and @OU_Football have over 100 appearances at No. 1 in the history of the AP Poll 💪 pic.twitter.com/OOBdDqIpGV

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 25, 2022

Most appearances by school at No. 1

The top five schools that have claimed the No. 1 spot on the college football AP Poll may not come as a surprise to their incredibly large fan bases. The top-five schools since the AP Poll began are Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and USC. Between the five-storied programs, over 40% of all AP Polls have featured one of those schools for nearly a century.

Alabama leads the rest of the nation with 137 appearances, more than two full seasons ahead of their closest competition. Ohio State and Oklahoma join the Crimson Tide as the only three schools with more than 100 appearances at No. 1, with Notre Dame and USC breaking the 90 mark.

With such a rich tradition of winning at these schools, it’s no wonder they command such large fan support around the nation. Alabama’s recent success under Nick Saban is a likely reason for their dominance, as Saban’s teams are always in National Championship discussions.

That history of success has translated into all aspects of the top-five programs as well. Alabama has four recruits from the incoming 2022 recruiting class that are rated five-star prospects by the On3 Consensus rankings. With only 32 players ranked as five-star talents, Alabama will be the new home for over 12 percent of them.

Also of interest in the list is the new connection between Oklahoma and USC, with Oklahoma’s former head coach Lincoln Riley leaving to become the leader of the Trojans. At the time of his decision, it seemed incredible that he would be willing to leave a program as well-built as Oklahoma. However, the prestige and history of USC is one of the few schools that can make the case to equal Oklahoma’s.

The rivalry between top programs in their pursuit of the best ranking in the nation is always heated, but with a little bit of added context to their legacy it can take on a brand new form between fans. For example, if Lincoln Riley can turn USC into a No. 1 team quicker than Oklahoma, they may soon have even more reason to dislike the Trojans as they creep past them on this list.