Alabama Crimson Tide

The AP ranks Alabama as only the fourth-best program of all time

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:49 p.m. ET

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On Tuesday, the AP published a fascinating and sure-to-be controversial ranking of the Top 100 college football programs based on all-time performance in its 80-year Top 25 poll.

All the brand-name teams you’d expect dominate the top of list, starting with No. 1 Ohio State. But one particular team’s spot is a bit surprising and likely to rile up its rabid supporters: Alabama at No. 4, behind Ohio State, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.

The Tide have been so dominant under Nick Saban, and the legacy of Bear Bryant so celebrated, it may seem hard for many to believe anyone other than Alabama could be No. 1. Especially since the AP rewarded bonus points for national championships, for which the Tide have the most of any team with 10.

But contained in the AP’s write-up for Alabama is a remarkable nugget that speaks to just how mediocre the program was for nearly three decades prior to Saban’s arrival and, more notably, just how huge a share of the Tide’s history Saban has produced in less than a decade. From the AP:

In just the past eight seasons, Saban has accumulated nearly 60 percent of Alabama’s 74 all-time No. 1 rankings. That’s incredible. And it also means that if the AP had produced the same list just a decade earlier, Alabama likely would have come in nowhere near the Top 5.

In another mild surprise, Michigan, whose fans love to tout their team’s title as the sport’s all-time winningest program (by total wins), came in just seventh. But that’s because for all those wins, the Wolverines have rarely finished the deal. They own just two AP national championships, and their 34 all-time No. 1 rankings is far lower than the six teams above them.

In fact, rival Ohio State has appeared at the top of the poll 105 times, more than triple that of Michigan. Someone in Columbus is going to put that on a poster.

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Alabama Crimson Tide