The long and storied success of the Oklahoma Sooners sets it apart as one of the premier programs in college football. It has been for the better part of a century.
College Football News recently went through each of the Associated Press Top 25 polls since its initial release in 1936 and scored each program based on their finish in the end of season AP Top 25. The Oklahoma Sooners were named the “greatest college football program of all time.”
How did College Football News score each team? “Take all the AP final rankings and use our simple scoring system – the AP national champion in each season gets 25 points, the No. 2 team 24, No. 3 23, and so on down to the bottom.”
So, finishing 25th in the AP Top 25 nets a team one point.
Since the Associated Press Poll was first released in 1936, the Oklahoma Sooners have finished a season inside the AP Top 25 61 times. At the end of the season, the Oklahoma Sooners have only finished outside the AP Top 25 25 times in the 86 year history of the poll.
The Oklahoma Sooners have finished within in the top five of the AP Top 25 33 times since 1936. Alabama, who comes in at No. 2 on College Football News rankings, has finished within the top five 28 times. While the Crimson Tide have more finishes at No. 1 in the poll and have ended the season inside the top 10 one more time than the Sooners, they also have more finishes outside the top 25 (26) than Oklahoma.
Here’s how the top 10 shakes out.