AP All-Time Top Ten: Why They Are Correct, And Guess Who Is No. 1

Jan 24, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes mascot Brutus with college football playoff trophy at Ohio Stadium for the national championship celebration. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The AP is accurate in their top 10 rankings.

The Associated Press released their all-time rankings of college football programs and they have Ohio State as No. 1 on their list. They used a points formula to rank every team as was explained in an article on the AP NCAA College Football Page.

"To determine the all-time Top 25, the AP formula counted poll appearances (one point) to mark consistency, No. 1 rankings (two points) to acknowledge elite programs and gave a bonus for AP championships (10 points)."

The rankings by the AP may surprise some people who are not familiar with the success some of these teams enjoyed decades ago. But when you take everything into consideration, the rankings make a lot of sense.

I have been following college football for almost 50 years, and I have seen an ebb and flow during that time with different teams becoming dominant for awhile and then struggling for a decade or so.

It was interesting to see the results of the AP point system. It was also fun revisiting some of the great teams of the past, either by my recollection or finding out things I wasn’t aware of from researching the first three decades of the AP poll.

I will give my take on the top 10 and why each team is ranked where they are. I will attempt to shed some light on their rankings from what I know from watching the football programs throughout the years, and from what I have learned from my research. The points total and how the AP determined the rankings will be included.

I hope you will find this interesting. Here we go, starting with No. 10.

Next: #10 Florida