Everyone loves to hate the AP Top 25 football poll. It's too subjective. It's biased toward the big brands. It doesn't actually "decide" anything anymore.
Honestly? Most of that is true. But here’s the thing: we still check it every single Sunday at 2:00 PM ET. We can’t help ourselves. Even with the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) committee holding the real keys to the kingdom, the Associated Press rankings remain the heartbeat of the sport’s conversation. They are the "people’s poll," or at least the media’s version of it.
The Drama of the 2025-2026 Season
Take this current season as a prime example. We are sitting here in mid-January 2026, and the poll has been a complete roller coaster. Nobody—and I mean nobody—had Indiana pegged as the No. 1 team in the country for a massive chunk of the year.
The Hoosiers, led by Curt Cignetti, didn’t just sneak into the top 25; they annexed the top spot. They went 15-0. They dominated Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl semifinal. Now, they are facing a Miami team that has resurrected itself under Mario Cristobal and a rejuvenated Carson Beck. The AP voters have been wrestling with this all year. Do you reward the undefeated "Cinderella" that looks like a juggernaut, or do you stick with the blue bloods like Georgia and Ohio State who had a couple of stumbles?
The poll is basically a weekly argument. That's why it's great.
How the AP Top 25 Football Rankings Actually Work
People think there is some secret room where the AP "bosses" decide the order. That isn't it at all. It’s actually a pretty transparent—if slightly chaotic—process involving 60+ sports writers and broadcasters from across the country.
Each voter submits a full 1-25 ballot. A No. 1 vote is worth 25 points, a No. 2 is worth 24, all the way down to a single point for No. 25. The AP then mashes all those numbers together to create the list we see.
✨ Don't miss: Finding the Best Texas Longhorns iPhone Wallpaper Without the Low-Res Junk
Why the "Others Receiving Votes" Matter
Ever notice that list of teams at the bottom? The ones who didn't quite make the cut? Those are the teams the voters are watching. For instance, Houston and Iowa have been hovering right on the edge of the Top 25 for weeks. One big win—or one collapse from a team like Duke—and they’re in. It’s the waiting room of college football.
The Problem With Human Voters
Humans are biased. It’s a fact. A voter in Alabama is going to see the SEC differently than a voter in Oregon sees the Big Ten. The AP tries to fix this by spreading voters across every state that has an FBS school.
Still, you get weirdness.
Earlier this season, one voter actually moved a team up after they lost. Another voter left an undefeated team off the ballot entirely for two weeks because they "didn't play anyone." This is why we have 60+ voters; the "wisdom of the crowd" usually irons out the absolute craziest takes.
AP Poll vs. CFP Rankings: What’s the Difference?
This is where people get confused. They see the AP Top 25 football poll on Sunday and then the CFP rankings on Tuesday and wonder why they don't match.
The AP Poll is a beauty contest.
It’s about who looks the best right now. Voters are often hesitant to drop a winning team, even if they looked ugly doing it.
🔗 Read more: Why Isn't Mbappe Playing Today: The Real Madrid Crisis Explained
The CFP Rankings are a resume contest.
The committee (which is made up of ADs, former coaches, and even a former Secretary of State) cares more about who you beat than how you looked. They use "blind" resumes and advanced metrics. They don't care if you were No. 1 in the AP last week; if your strength of schedule is trash, they will drop you.
- AP Poll: Released Sundays. 62 media members. Starts in the preseason.
- CFP Rankings: Released Tuesdays (starting in November). 13 committee members. Only matters for the bracket.
Is the Preseason Poll a Curse?
Every August, the AP drops the preseason Top 25. Every year, it is wrong.
Look at Florida this year. They started as the preseason No. 3. By mid-November, they were unranked. They eventually clawed back to No. 19, but that preseason hype was a weight around their neck. On the flip side, Vanderbilt wasn't even sniffing the "Others Receiving Votes" section in August. Now they've spent time in the top 10.
Voters are told to ignore reputation, but they can't. If you have "Texas" or "Ohio State" on your jersey, you get a 5-to-10 spot bump just because people expect you to be good.
Navigating the Poll for the Postseason
As we head into the final National Championship game between No. 1 Indiana and No. 10 Miami (who, let's be honest, is playing way better than their ranking suggests), the AP poll serves one final purpose. It provides the "Final Poll" after the championship.
For many fans, being "AP Poll National Champions" still carries a certain weight that a playoff trophy doesn't fully replace. It’s the historical record.
💡 You might also like: Tottenham vs FC Barcelona: Why This Matchup Still Matters in 2026
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you want to actually understand why the rankings move the way they do, don't just look at the list. Look at the points. If the gap between No. 4 and No. 5 is only 10 points, that means the voters are split. If the gap is 200 points, that top four is "locked in."
Also, check out College Poll Tracker. It lets you see exactly how individual voters are casting their ballots. If you want to see which writer from Ohio is snubbing your favorite SEC team, that’s where you find the evidence.
Keep an eye on the "Top 25" match-ups specifically. When two ranked teams play, the loser usually drops about 7-10 spots, while the winner might only move up 2 or 3. It's much easier to fall than it is to climb.
The poll isn't perfect. It's messy, biased, and sometimes nonsensical. But college football is a sport built on arguments, and the AP Top 25 is the best fuel for the fire we’ve ever had.
To get the most out of the rankings, follow the weekly point fluctuations rather than just the number next to the team name. Check the "others receiving votes" section to identify teams on the verge of a breakthrough before the betting lines catch up. Finally, cross-reference the AP Top 25 with strength-of-schedule metrics to see which teams are being carried by their brand name versus their actual on-field performance.