By Tex Noel, Executive Director of the Intercollegiate Football Researches Association
It’s that time of the year—when members of the media, annual publications and fans are all on the same page (or so they think): on who will be No.1 team in college football for the coming season.
Some selectors have been making choices for over 50 years; others as few as 10; all have a say-so and not all have been completely accurate with their choices for a given year.
From all that I have been able to find, was that in 1950 the AP and UPI began the initial Pre-Season polls; and all have developed over the last 60 years.
In compiling this, I used 11 selected publications and the AP and all coaches’ selections; as this was pulled from the website: stassen.com (http://preseason.stassen.com/over-under/all-teams.html) 1989-2009 and research by the author. Permission has been granted by Stassen.com to use the information.
Wire Services:
AP 10 correct out of 60 seasons (1950-2009) (correction: was previously written as 12 of 60, but it is actually 10 of 60)
UP/UPI 9 of 23 (1950-53, 71-91)
USA Today 3 of 27 (1983-2009)
Publications:
11–Street & Smith’s, (1st season, 1956)
6—Sports Illustrated, (1st season, 1963)
5—Athlon’s, (1st season, 1992)
5—Game Plan, (1st season, 1992)
3—Lindy’s, (1st season, 1993)
1—Phil Steele (1st season 1995)
1—Blue Ribbon (1st season, 2000)
Those were the experts and their accuracy; now, how about a closer look at the teams that went into the creation of the above.
Season |
Predicted #1 |
Avg Pre Rnk * |
#1 |
#Selectors |
| 1993 | Florida State | 1.11 | 8 | 9 |
| 2004 | USC | 1.30 | 7 | 10 |
| 1999 | Florida State | 1.14 | 6 | 7 |
| 1975 | Oklahoma | 1.00 | 4 | 4 |
| 2001 | Miami FL | 3.10 | 3 | 10 |
| 2008 | Florida | 4.40 | 3 | 10 |
| 1977 | Notre Dame | 1.50 | 3 | 4 |
| 1978 | Alabama | 1.50 | 3 | 4 |
TABLE
- 10 Teams are tied with 2
* Pre-Season Ranking is the composite ranking position of the selectors for a given season
National Champions and Not Ranked in any Pre-Season Survey
| Season | National Champion |
|---|---|
| 1958 | LSU |
| 1960 | Minnesota |
| 1964 | Arkansas (FWAA) |
| 1964 | Notre Dame (NFFHF) |
| 1965 | Michigan State |
| 1981 | Clemson |
| 1990 | Georgia Tech |
TABLE
Most Predicted #1; but failed to become National Champion
| Season | Predicted #1 | Selectors #1 | Total | Final RankingsAP – Coaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Florida | 10 | 10 | 8 – 7 |
| 2000 | Nebraska | 10 | 10 | 2 – 2 |
| 2005 | USC | 10 | 10 | 3 - 2 |
| 2007 | USC | 8 | 8 | 3 – 3 |
| 2009 | Florida | 6 | 6 | 3 – 3 |
| 1992 | Miami FL | 6 | 6 | 4 – 5 |
| 1995 | Florida State | 6 | 6 | 3 – 3 |
| 2003 | Oklahoma | 5 | 5 | 7 – 7 |
| 1994 | Florida | 5 | 5 | 3 – 3 |
| 2001 | Florida | 5 | 5 | 13 – 10 |
TABLE
- 6 National Champions tied with 4; 14 with 3; 23 with 2 and 44 with 1.
