If you know anything at all about college football, you know if you want to stay on top of the best teams you have to pay attention to Associated Press and their AP Top 25.
How does the AP choose the top 25?
The Associated Press uses a poll to determine the top 25 by a points system that is based on votes that rank the college teams. A football team will receive 25 points for every first place vote they receive, 24 points for second place and on down the list until the last place of 25 which is given one point. The top 25 rankings are set by placing the total points from the highest to lowest. The formula is the same one that is used for Associated Press Pro 32 rankings as well as the AP Top 25 for women’s and men’s basketball.
How it all began
The Associated Press (AP) started the college football team poll in October of 1936. This means it is the longest running poll that provides awards for national titles. The Associated Press offers a preseason poll that began in 1950. The ones involved in the voting are 60 broadcasters and sports writers across the United States. Each of the 60 vote on the poll every week. All of those invited to vote have a background in covering college football. Every week the Associated Press publishes the rankings throughout the preseason and the season.
Fans
No matter what team you want to keep an eye on, you will need to follow the Associated Press to learn how well your team is doing. Today, the top 25 college teams include Ohio State, Oregon, TCU, Alabama, Michigan State, Florida State, Baylor, Georgia Tech, Georgia, UCLA, Mississippi State, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Missouri, Clemson, Boise State, Mississippi, Kansas, Arizona State, USC, Utah, Auburn, Marshall, Louisville, and Memphis.
No matter if you want to bet on your favorite team or just keep an eye on the top college football teams, you should always check the AP top 25 every week. You will find all kinds of information on the list describing the votes as well as the how many votes and the total each college team received. This will certainly be entertaining. Maybe you can create your own top 25 every week and see just how close to get to the pros that vote on the poll. Would be kind of interesting to see just how many you could get right each week. Who knows, you may find that you enjoy keeping an eye on the AP top 25 as much as watching your favorite team play football.
