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

"6  NEBRASKA (901 Points) Total appearances:717, 65% of all polls First appearance:1936 No.1 ranking:72 Championships:Four (last 1995) Best full decade:1990s appeared in 100% of polls. Worst full decade:1950s appeared in 5.17% of polls. Poll point:Mostly under coach Tom Osborne, the Cornhuskers were unranked in only three polls combined during the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s _ appearing in 99.35 percent over three decades."

Nebraska had one of the great runs in college football history. For 40 years they never had a losing season, and many of those years they were in contention for a National title.

It began with hiring Bob Devaney as head coach in 1962. He brought Nebraska back as a national power by 1970 and won the National Championship. Nebraska repeated the following season.

Devaney retired following the 1972 season and his assistant Tom Osborne took over as head coach. Osborne had the Cornhuskers competing for the National title nearly every season. He finished his head coaching career with back to back National championships.

The lack of success between the time the AP poll began and Devaney becoming the Cornhusker head coach, and following Osborne’s retirement after the 1997 season, is the only reason Nebraska isn’t higher on the list. Simply put, Nebraska was the gold standard when it came to college football programs for nearly four decades.

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