Top 25Guide
How AP Top 25 voting works
Every voter ranks 25 teams. The Associated Press turns those individual ballots into the national poll by assigning points to every position and adding them together.
Week 8, 202670 voters
How a Ballot Is Scored
First place is worth 25 points. Each position below it is worth one fewer point, down to one point for #25. Pick any position to see its value.
A #7 vote is worth 19 points.
From Ballots to the Top 25
The AP totals the points a team receives across every ballot. The team with the highest total is #1, the next-highest is #2, and the order continues through #25.
#8On all 70 ballots · best #1 · worst #13 · average 6.9
- 1 × 25 voter at #1
- 25
- 2 × 23 voters at #3
- 46
- 9 × 22 voters at #4
- 198
- 10 × 21 voters at #5
- 210
- 6 × 20 voters at #6
- 120
- 10 × 19 voters at #7
- 190
- 18 × 18 voters at #8
- 324
- 5 × 17 voters at #9
- 85
- 6 × 16 voters at #10
- 96
- 1 × 15 voter at #11
- 15
- 1 × 14 voter at #12
- 14
- 1 × 13 voter at #13
- 13
- Total
- 1,336 points
First Place Is Only Part of It
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.
This week, Texas Tech collected 1 first-place vote to Notre Dame’s 0, yet Notre Dame is #4 and Texas Tech is #8. Notre Dame sits in the top five on 37 of 70 ballots, Texas Tech on 22.
| Team | First-place | Top five | Avg. position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
4 Notre Dame | 0 | 37 | 6.1 | 1,395 |
8 Texas Tech | 1 | 22 | 6.9 | 1,336 |
What Voters Consider
There is no shared 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.
- 70
- Voters
- 32
- Schools with a vote
- 15
- On every ballot
- 0
- On one ballot
On all 70 ballots
Miami
BYU
Ohio State- Notre Dame
Georgia
Indiana
Ole Miss- Texas Tech
UCLA
Utah
Tennessee
Kentucky
Alabama
Houston
Wake Forest
Widest split among ranked teams
Wake Forest#17 · placed anywhere from #10 to #25Highest at #10 by Dylan Sinn from Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. Lowest at #25 by Chelsie Brown from KCRG-TV.
Others Receiving Votes
Teams that appear on ballots without finishing in the Top 25 are listed as “others receiving votes,” along with the points they earned. A single #25 vote is enough to make that list.
Oklahoma State28 ballots · best #18128 pts
Oregon25 ballots · best #1879 pts
Auburn21 ballots · best #1861 pts
James Madison21 ballots · best #1752 pts
Mississippi State6 ballots · best #1630 pts
New Mexico5 ballots · best #246 pts
Oregon State3 ballots · best #253 pts
Who Votes
The panel is made up of 70 writers and broadcasters who cover college football.
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. AP employees choose the panel but do not cast ballots themselves.
Each logo is their #1.
- No. 1: MiamiAdam LichtensteinThe South Florida Sun SentinelBallot
- No. 1: MiamiAlex TaylorWyoming Tribune EagleBallot
- No. 1: MiamiAndy KendeighKETV-TVBallot
- No. 1: MiamiAndy YamashitaThe Seattle TimesBallot
- No. 1: BYUBJ Rains247SportsBallot
- No. 1: Ohio StateBob AsmussenThe (Champaign) News-GazetteBallot
- No. 1: MiamiBob BallouCBS AustinBallot
- No. 1: MiamiBrenna GreeneKOIN-TVBallot
- No. 1: MiamiBrett McMurphyOn3Ballot
- No. 1: MiamiBrian FonsecaNJ.comBallot
- No. 1: Ohio StateBrian HowellOn3Ballot
- No. 1: MiamiCameron CoxKPNX-TVBallot
- No. 1: MiamiChelsie BrownKCRG-TVBallot
- No. 1: BYUChris CarterPittsburgh Post-GazetteBallot
- No. 1: Texas TechChris MurrayKRNV-TVBallot
- No. 1: MiamiCreg StephensonAL.comBallot
- No. 1: Ohio StateDave PrestonWTOPBallot
- No. 1: BYUDavid BriggsThe (Toledo) BladeBallot
- No. 1: BYUDavid JablonskiCox First MediaBallot
- No. 1: MiamiDavid PaschallChattanooga Times Free PressBallot
- No. 1: BYUDylan SinnFort Wayne Journal-GazetteBallot
- No. 1: MiamiEric HansenBlueAndGold.comBallot
- No. 1: MiamiEric JohnsonWSLS-TVBallot
- No. 1: BYUGarland GillenKVUE-TVBallot
- No. 1: BYUGreg LucaSan Antonio Express-NewsBallot
- No. 1: MiamiHaley SawyerSouthern California Media GroupBallot
- No. 1: MiamiHenry GreensteinLawrence Journal-WorldBallot
- No. 1: Ohio StateIan KressWLNS-TVBallot
- No. 1: MiamiJamal St. CyrWJXT-TVBallot
- No. 1: BYUJavon EdmondsSyracuse Post-StandardBallot
- No. 1: MiamiJerry HumphreyAL.comBallot
- No. 1: MiamiJoe ArrudaHartford CourantBallot
- No. 1: BYUJohn JohnsonWXII-TVBallot
- No. 1: Ohio StateJon WilnerSan Jose Mercury NewsBallot
- No. 1: BYUJosh FurlongKSL.comBallot
- No. 1: MiamiJulian MininsohnWKRN-TVBallot
- No. 1: BYUKate RogersonWTVDBallot
- No. 1: MiamiKeara BrunoWCAV-TVBallot
- No. 1: MiamiKevin CarterCBS SportsBallot
- No. 1: MiamiKirk BohlsHouston ChronicleBallot
- No. 1: MiamiKirk KenneySan Diego Union-TribuneBallot
- No. 1: BYUKoki RileyThe (Baton Rouge) AdvocateBallot
- No. 1: MiamiLee K. HowardWKYT-TVBallot
- No. 1: MiamiLia AssimakopoulosThe Dallas Morning NewsBallot
- No. 1: BYULouie VaccherWildcatReport.comBallot
- No. 1: MiamiMadison HricikCedar Rapids GazetteBallot
- No. 1: BYUMatt MurschelOrlando SentinelBallot
- No. 1: MiamiMatthew McGavicWHAS-TVBallot
- No. 1: MiamiMichael KatzNortheast Mississippi Daily JournalBallot
- No. 1: MiamiMike GriffithAJC.comBallot
- No. 1: MiamiMike HillFOX SportsBallot
- No. 1: MiamiMike JacquesWMTV-TVBallot
- No. 1: MiamiMurray EvansLawton (Okla.) ConstitutionBallot
- No. 1: MiamiNick JacobsKSHB-TVBallot
- No. 1: BYUNicole AuerbachNBC SportsBallot
- No. 1: MiamiPat WelterWRAL-TVBallot
- No. 1: Ohio StatePete YanityWSPA-TVBallot
- No. 1: Ohio StateRalph RussoThe AthleticBallot
- No. 1: MiamiRandy JohnsonThe Minnesota Star TribuneBallot
- No. 1: BYURece DavisESPNBallot
- No. 1: BYURyan ZukeMLive.comBallot
- No. 1: Ohio StateSarah HughesUSA SportsBallot
- No. 1: BYUScott HamiltonWNKT-FMBallot
- No. 1: MiamiSean ReiderAlbuquerque JournalBallot
- No. 1: BYUSpencer RipchikThe Dominion PostBallot
- No. 1: BYUStephen MeansCleveland.comBallot
- No. 1: MiamiTom MurphyArkansas Democrat-GazetteBallot
- No. 1: MiamiTrevor HassThe Boston GlobeBallot
- No. 1: Ohio StateTy HildenbrandtThe Solid VerbalBallot
- No. 1: MiamiZach KleinWSB-TVBallot
AP Poll vs. CFP Ranking
They are separate rankings made by different groups. The AP poll is a media poll. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee produces the ranking used to select and place teams in the playoff bracket. AP points do not determine that bracket.
The two also arrive on different schedules. The AP poll starts in August, before a game has been played, and runs every week of the season. The committee waits until early November to publish its first ranking, then releases a new one every Tuesday until Selection Day in early December, when the final ranking sets the bracket.
AP vs. Coaches Poll This Week
The biggest gaps between the two polls right now. How the Coaches Poll works explains who votes in the other one.
- Notre DameAP 4 · Coaches 8
FloridaAP 20 · Coaches 24- Texas TechAP 8 · Coaches 5
SMUAP 23 · Coaches 20- HoustonAP 14 · Coaches 16
When the Poll Is Published
Most in-season polls are released on Sunday afternoon, giving voters time to evaluate Saturday’s games, and the final poll follows the national championship game.