College football rankings: AP Top 25's greatest programs ever (2024)

25. Iowa Hawkeyes (346 points)

24. Wisconsin Badgers (378 points)

23. Ole Miss Rebels (380points)

22. Washington Huskies (418 points)

21. Texas A&M Aggies (397 points)

Threeof these five teams finished inside the top 25 during 2023, including Washington finishing a few plays shy of a national championship as the nation's second-best team. Ole Miss won 11 games under Lane Kiffin and hopes to make the College Football Playoff in 2024 with an enhanced roster while Iowa expects improvements offensively with a new play-caller and quarterback. At Wisconsin, the Badgers moved on from Paul Chryst and landed Luke Fickelltwo coaching cycles ago, but his first season did not go as planned in Madison.

20. Arkansas Razorbacks (444 points)

19. Michigan State Spartans (472 points)

18. UCLA Bruins (486 points)

Arkansas appeared to be back in the national picture following the 2021 season under coach Sam Pittman, before taking a couple major steps back. Pittman is now on one of the SEC's hottest coaching seats as he tries to find some magic after welcoming former Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino back to the program as offensive coordinator.... Jonathan Smith is now in charge at Michigan State following the firing of Mel Tucker, who had an 11-season under his belt after getting the job post-Mark Dantonio,... UCLA enjoyed its best season in Chip Kelly's tenure in 2022, but flatlined last fall and now have DeShaun Foster as coach.

17. Clemson Tigers (504 points)

16. Miami Hurricanes (534 points)

15. Florida Gators (551 points)

Clemson's impressive rise under Dabo Swinney includes two national titles and six trips to the College Football Playoff over the pastnine seasons. He's had so much success with the Tigers that20 wins over the last two yearshave felt underwhelming by program standards. ... The wonder years for Miami came in the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s when the program was consistently churning out premier NFL talent at all positions and winning national titles on a consistent basis. Since finishing No. 5 overall in 2003 with an 11-2 season, the Hurricanes managed double-digit wins only one year since (2017 under Mark Richt) and have lost their edge. Perhaps Mario Cristobal can push Miami back to glory? It's Year 3 for him and "win-now" is a must. ... Florida faded fast during Dan Mullen's fourth campaign in 2021, leading to his exit and Billy Napier's hiring. Florida won three national championships since 1996 and produced three Heisman winners.

14. Auburn Tigers (584 points)

13. Florida State Seminoles (605 points)

Auburn twice appeared in the national championship game since 2010, winning it all with an unbeaten season with Heisman winner and future No. 1 pick Cam Newton at quarterback. It's hard to believe Auburn fired head coach Gene Chiziktwo years later, but such is life in the SEC. Auburn got back to the final game under Gus Malzahn in 2013, winning an SEC Championship along the way. Bryan Harsindidn't work out, and now Hugh Freeze takes over on The Plains. ... Florida State enjoyed unprecedented success under the late Bobby Bowden (1976-2009), a legend who helped the Seminoles emerge as one of college football's superpowers first as an independent before embarking on a dynasty in the ACC. That success carried through for Jimbo Fisher, who produced three conference titles and a national championship during his tenure from 2010-17. Jameis Winston led those BCS dominators and won the Heisman in 2013. The Seminoles hope Mike Norvell's breakthrough season in 2022 with 10 wins and last season's run to a ACC Championship leads to more in 2024.

12.LSU Tigers (703 points)

11. Georgia Bulldogs (704points)

Georgia made substantial strides in these AP all-time rankings since the start of Kirby Smart's tenure and back-to-back national championship runs. Expect Georgia to continue to rise in this ranking considering Smart posted seven-consecutive top 10 AP Poll finishes. Entering the 2021 season, Georgia finished inside the top 10 three consecutive years, the first time that happened in more than two decades. ... Under the direction of Les Miles, LSU won the national championship in 2007 before being blanked by Alabama a few years later in the final game despite a 13-0 regular season. Since 2000, the Tigers have three national championships to their credit (one under Saban in 2003) and produced the second-most number of NFL players in the SEC (Alabama). The perfect season four years ago under Ed Orgeron was arguably the most impressive performance of thecentury by a college football team. Third-year coach Brian Kellyhopes for anotherdouble-digit win season in 2024.

Since winning a national championship in 1998, Tennessee football has continuously tried working its way back to the top of the SEC, but results have underwhelmed — until the 2022 campaig. Tennessee debuted at No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings at 8-0 and was in the national championship hunt before late-season losses to Georgia and South Carolina took the Vols out of the mix. However, they finished No. 6 in the AP Poll after toppling Clemson in the Orange Bowl, a terrific finish to the program's best campaign in decades. Tennessee is ranked inside the top20 of the preseason pollheading into September.

Joe Paterno established a winning trend in Happy Valley with a winning tenure that can never be topped, but the ending tarnished much of the legacy. Bill O'Brienpulled the program out of its dark time and giving way to James Franklin, who enters the 2024 season in the national championship conversation. With four 11-win seasons over the pasteightyears, the Nittany Lions are confident the time is now. Back-to-back, less-than-stellar seasons out of Franklin didn't deter the administration from signing him to a gargantuan extension during the 2021 campaign and it has worked out well for Penn State, which is inside the top 10 to open2024.

Nebraska thought it hit a grand slam after bringing former program star Scott Frost back as a coach, but the Huskers faded into obscurity under his leadership and slipped to the back of the Big Ten. Now, former Baylor coach Matt Rhule is the leader tasked with making Nebraska relevant once more. Not since Tom Osborne's final season in 1997 have the Huskers finished inside the top five and they did it eight times under his tutelage. Members of the Big Ten since 2011, Nebraskaseeksits first conference title in more than a decade.

Texas sat atop the college football world in 2005 following the BCS National Championship comeback win over USC and made it back to the finale four years later under Mack Brown against Alabama. Since that loss to the Crimson Tide in 2009, the Longhorns have hit double-digit victories only one time, doing so during the 2019 campaign under Tom Herman. The power brokers in Austin are banking on Steve Sarkisian to take the program back to national respectability and ultimately, their spot at the top of the polls after reaching the playoff and winning the Big 12. Now in the SEC, Texas has a new flag to carry.

There's a reason former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Rileyexpects to win and win big at USC. In Year 1, they proved to be a Playoff threat after Heisman-winning quarterback Caleb Williams led the Trojans to the Cotton Bowl. However, last season was a step in the opposite direction.Heisman winners, consistent All-Americans and dominance as a then-Pac-10 national power, it feels like ages ago that the Trojans were sitting on college football's throne. USC's dynasty in the 2000s was one of the most impressive runs ever, but since Pete Carroll's departure, the Trojans managed only one top-five finish since.

Twice the Irish have gone unbeaten during the regular season since 2012 only to be taken down by a fellow titan on the doorstep of a national championship during Brian Kelly's stint as coach. The program's last national title came in 1988 under Lou Holtz, who won 10 or more games four times. The Irish made the most of their one-year run in the ACC during the 2020 campaign with a Playoff berth and followed that with another in 2021. Now, can Notre Dame get back there during the Marcus Freeman era? He follows in the footsteps of several great coaches in South Bend at one of the nation's blue blood programs and won nine games his first season before accumulating 10 last fall.

Jim Harbaugh joined the pantheon of Michigan coaching greats during the 2021 season with his first Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth. He won two more and a national championship before leaving the program in January.From Bo Schembechler to Lloyd Carr, Michigan football screams success. A recruiting monster much like Ohio State in the Big Ten, Michigan has never had an issue courting some of the nation's best players on both sides of the ball to play in Ann Arbor. The 1997 national championship team, anchored by Heisman winner Charles Woodson, is one of the most memorable in program history, but2023's unbeaten campaign was even more sweet.

Oklahoma dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 in these all-time AP Poll rankings after failing to finish inside the top 25to two seasons ago. It was the first time in more than two decades. First-year coach Brent Venables' season was one to forget as the Sooners finished 6-7 after losing to Florida State in the postseason. With a high position comes great responsibility and the Sooners responded last season with a much better showing. Heading into Venables' regime, Oklahoma produced four trips to the College Football Playoff over the previous five seasons and managed two Heisman winners at quarterback. They hadn't missed a beat since the program's all-time winningest coach — Bob Stoops — stepped down prior to the 2017 campaign with a loaded team. Since 2000, the Sooners have won or shared 14 Big 12 championships.

Since the turn of the century, no Big Ten program won more games or produced more NFL Draft picks than Ohio State. Entering the 2022 season, most believed that was the Buckeyes' best team under coach Ryan Day, who has maintained the program's stance among the elites following Urban Meyer's departure. The Buckeyes finished one play away from reaching the national championship game in 2019, came up just short in the finale in 2020 against Alabama and fell 42-41 to Georgia inthe 2022 semifinal before failing to reach the playoff last fall. Three consecutive losses to Michigan is not something this storied program is accustomed to since the turn of the century.

Nick Saban is second to none. College football's greatest coach of all time captured six national titles at Alabama and didn't lose more than two games in a seasonover his final 13 years. Saban is 201-29 in Tuscaloosa and passed Paul "Bear" Bryant during the 2020 season for most championships all-time. Alabama's unprecedented run under his watch may not be topped. A respected program before his arrival, Saban has scaled college football's mountain with the Crimson Tide and has now taken Alabama to No. 1 in this all-time ranking according to AP Poll points. Kalen DeBoerfights to keep it there.