Appearances at #1

by NYCHorn on Oct 6, 2008 5:36 PM CDT

This graph from an AP story caught my attention:

The Sooners remained No. 1 in the new AP poll Sunday, their record 97th time at the top. They had 51 of a possible 65 first-place votes, eight more than a week earlier when they broke a tie with Notre Dame for 95 appearances at No. 1.

If OU's number 1 among the No. 1s, where does Texas rank?

Eighth, it turns out, and a distant eighth at that. In nearly 1,000 AP college football polls published since 1936, the Horns have been ranked No. 1 just 42 times. We're third among the Big XII teams -- Nebraska ranks fifth, with 70 No. 1s.

Just some interesting trivia as we head into Saturday. Hook 'em!

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OU had a 50-game winning streak under Bud Wilkinson

which boosted their total a great deal. OU explicitly took advantage of the GI Bill after WWII to built a powerful program in the late 40s and 50s.

Notre Dame had their heyday, when they became the darlings of the Eastern media, when they garnered many of theirs. Just a whiff of a good team was enough to push their rankings to the top.

Texas didn’t hit number #1 until 1941 and then for just a game when Baylor tied them 7-7. It would be 20 years before Texas rose to #1 again, in 1961 under Royal. Again, the first team they faced was Baylor, whom they beat 33-7, but the next week Sonny Gibbs and TCU upset the Horns, 6-0, for one of the most bitter loses in the early part of Royal’s career.

The next year, ’62, Texas again hit #1 after beating an unranked OU team but two weeks later a 14-14 tie scuttled the ranking.

Then came 1963, when the Horns beat #1 Oklahoma, who had beaten then #1 USC to open the season, the Horns held on for seven games and the MNC. They also helped to rearrange the media strongholds that had existed up until then.

Even in the ‘69-’70 run of 20 straight wins, Texas only held the #1 ranking for 8 weeks.

Without any long runs – hell, in 2005 the Horns were #2 right up to the Rose Bowl – the Horns didn’t have a great string to accumulate much.

Good info. Thanks.

by whills on Oct 6, 2008 7:02 PM CDT reply actions