How AP Top 25 voting works

The AP totals the points a team receives across every ballot. The team with the highest total is No. 1, the next-highest is No. 2, and the order continues through No. 25.

First-place votes are only part of that total. A team can receive fewer first-place votes and still rank higher if it appears more consistently near the top of the other ballots.

Teams that appear on ballots without finishing in the Top 25 are listed as “others receiving votes,” along with the points they earned.

The panel has recently included around 60 writers and broadcasters who cover college football. AP employees choose the panel but do not cast ballots themselves.

The AP aims to include at least one voter from every state with an FBS program, adds representation in states with more teams, and reserves places for national reporters.

There is no shared computer formula for building an AP ballot. Voters have room to make their own judgments, but the AP urges them to emphasize performance instead of reputation, avoid regional bias, and pay attention to head-to-head results.

Because every ballot reflects an individual judgment, two voters can watch the same weekend and reasonably submit very different rankings.

Most in-season polls are released on Sunday afternoon, giving voters time to evaluate Saturday’s games. The first two polls and the final poll after the national championship use different release schedules.