In 1950, the AP Poll decided to do something bold and new.
They decided that before any games were played, they would release a poll based off of last year's successes and recruiting data.
Thus the preseason poll was born.
But just how good has the AP preseason poll been at predicting the national champions?
This becomes particularly relevant to Oklahoma, who will likely be the preseason No. 1 in 2011.
So, how have preseason No. 1 teams done over the years? Read on.
1950: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The AP's first attempt at ranking teams in the preseason didn't go so well.
Notre Dame was the No. 1 team coming into the 1950 season, but the Irish would lose to Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State and USC. They also had a tie with Iowa.
Final Ranking: NR
1951: Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee did go on to finish the season undefeated as the national championship in 1951.
Just one asterisk, however: Tennessee would lose to Maryland in the 1952 Sugar Bowl. However, final rankings during that time period came before bowl season.
Final Ranking: No. 1
1952: Michigan State Spartans
This one the pollsters nailed. The Spartans would go undefeated in 1952 and claim the national championship.
Final Ranking: No. 1
1953: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
A tie with Iowa is all that stood between the Fighting Irish and the 1953 national championship.
Final Ranking: No. 2
1954: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Once again, Notre Dame was the favorite and once again the Irish failed to deliver. They lost to Purdue 27-14.
Anyone else see a pattern emerging here?
Final Ranking: No. 4
1955: UCLA Bruins
The Bruins were able to win a split championship in 1954, but a 7-0 loss to Maryland would end their dreams of grabbing another title in 1955.
Final Ranking: No. 4
1956: Oklahoma Sooners
Only Colorado would be a significant threat to the Sooners that year, but even that 27-19 victory wasn't all that close.
Oklahoma shut out six out of its 10 opponents en route to a national championship.
Final Ranking: No. 1
1957: Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners had a 47-game win streak as they rolled through 1957. But all that came to an end when Notre Dame came to visit Norman on November 16th, 1957.
Oklahoma lost 7-0 to the Irish, which ended that remarkable run.
Final Ranking: No. 4
1958: Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State got embarrassed by Northwestern, getting blanked 27-0.
Final Ranking: No. 8
1959: LSU Tigers
A one-point loss to Tennessee was all that stood between the Tigers and a national title in 1959.
Of course, LSU lost to Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl as well, but this was still in the day when the national championship was awarded before bowl season.
Final Ranking: No. 3
1960: Syracuse Orange
Syracuse's stay at the top of the AP Poll was short-lived. Despite not losing, Ole Miss took the top spot from the Orange after Week 1.
But the inevitable happened when Syracuse got shut out by Pitt 10-0.
Final Ranking: No. 19
1961: Iowa Hawkeyes
The pollsters missed this one badly. Iowa would finish only 5-4 in 1961.
Final Ranking: NR
1962: Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State lost to UCLA, Northwestern and Iowa that year, enough to send the Buckeyes clean out of the AP rankings.
It should be noted here, however, that the AP only released a top 10 poll between 1962 and 1967.
Final Ranking: NR
1963: USC Trojans
USC, like Ohio State in 1962, lost three games. So, there's little wonder why the Trojans also finished unranked in 1963.
Final Ranking: NR
1964: Ole Miss Rebels
Ole Miss would be the last team to start the year No. 1 and finish not ranked in the AP Top 25.
Final Ranking: NR
1965: Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska went through the season undefeated but wasn't able to win the national championship.
Before Cornhuskers cry foul, it should be noted that the Rebels lost in the Sugar Bowl against No. 4 Alabama that same season.
Final Ranking: No. 5
1966: Alabama Crimson Tide
Despite going undefeated, Alabama finished third behind Notre Dame and Michigan State. The Irish and the Spartans had played each other and finished in a tie.
I'm sure glad the days of the tie are long gone.
Final Ranking: No. 3
1967: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
This is the fourth time that the Irish were picked as the preseason No. 1 and didn't finish that way.
Final Ranking: No. 5
1968: Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue's run at the national championship ended against Ohio State as the Buckeyes dominated 17-0.
Interestingly enough, Ohio State would go on to win it all that year.
Final Ranking: No. 10
1969: Ohio State Buckeyes
AP voters tried to atone for picking Purdue over Ohio State in 1968 by picking the Buckeyes in the preseason of 1969.
And they would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling Wolverines.
Final Ranking: No. 4
1970: Ohio State Buckeyes
If at first you don't succeed, repeat your mistake.
In all fairness, no one saw Stanford's stunning upset over the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl coming.
Final Ranking: No. 5
1971: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Here's a philosophical question for you:
Notre Dame won plenty of national championships, but never when the Irish were picked No. 1 preseason. So, did the preseason ranking doom the Irish or were the pollsters punked whenever they picked them?
No one will ever really know.
Final Ranking: No. 13
1972: Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska promptly lost its No. 1 ranking after losing to unranked UCLA in the first game of the season.
Final Ranking: No. 4
1973: USC Trojans
Oklahoma tied the Trojans 7-7, who would go on to lose to rival Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Final Ranking: No. 8
1974: Oklahoma Sooners
For the first time in 18 years, the AP pollsters guessed right during the preseason.
It should be noted that Oklahoma was on probation at the time from the Coaches' Poll.
Final Ranking: No. 1
1975: Oklahoma Sooners
When all else fails, pick the Sooners.
Oklahoma remains the only team to be ranked No. 1 in the preseason and final AP Poll for two straight years.
Final Ranking: No. 1
1976: Nebraska Cornhuskers
In a repeat of what happened in '72, Nebraska lost its No. 1 ranking after the first week of the season.
This time, LSU tied the Cornhuskers up.
They went on to lose three games that season.
Final Ranking: No. 9
1977: Oklahoma Sooners
Maybe picking the Sooners as preseason No. 1s three times in four years was pushing it.
The Sooners would lose to Texas and Arkansas before all was said and done.
Final Ranking: No. 7
1978: Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama lost early in the season to USC, but was able to climb back into the No. 1 spot in the AP by beating then-No. 1 Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.
The 1978 championship was split, however.
Final Ranking: No. 1
1979: USC Trojans
After a tie against Stanford 21-21, there was nothing the Trojans could do to reclaim the top spot.
Not even beating the then-No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl helped.
Final Ranking: No. 2
1980: Ohio State Buckeyes
UCLA took down the No. 1 Buckeyes 17-0 at Ohio Stadium.
Ouch.
Final Ranking: No. 15
1981: Michigan Wolverines
How did Michigan respond to being No. 1 preseason for the first time ever?
By losing to Wisconsin 21-14.
Final Ranking: No. 12
1982: Pitt Panthers
Dan Marino was awesome, but he just couldn't take down Notre Dame, Penn State or SMU in 1982.
Final Ranking: No. 10
1983: Nebraska Cornhuskers
Despite being one of the highest-scoring teams in history, Nebraska came one point short against Miami in Orange Bowl.
A single point stood between this team and a national championship.
Final Ranking: No. 2
1984: Auburn Tigers
1984 was a wild year, to be sure.
Six different teams, including preseason No. 1 Auburn, held the top spot in the AP Poll at some point or another.
Who would win in 1984?
The preseason-unranked BYU Cougars.
Final Ranking: No. 14
1985: Oklahoma Sooners
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Sadly for fans of non-AQ teams, Oklahoma brought things back to "normal" by starting and finishing the season No. 1 again.
Final Ranking: No. 1
1986: Oklahoma Sooners
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A loss to Miami kept the Sooners from repeating what they had done in '74-'75.
Final Ranking: No. 3
1987: Oklahoma Sooners
OK, really? Why choose the same team three times in a row as the preseason No. 1?
Yes, Oklahoma is awesome, but still...
Final Ranking: No. 3
1988: Florida State Seminoles
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Florida State definitely got things off on the wrong foot by losing to Miami 31-0 Week 1.
The Seminoles did win every other game, however.
Final Ranking: No. 3
1989: Michigan Wolverines
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Michigan lost only two games in 1989: its first game against Notre Dame, and its last against USC.
Final Ranking: No. 7
1990: Miami Hurricanes
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The U got upset by BYU in the first game of the season to end its national title hunt just as it had begun.
Final Ranking: No. 3
1991: Florida State Seminoles
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Florida State didn't fall like Miami had to BYU in its first week of the season.
Rather, the Seminoles fell to Miami and Florida at the end of the season.
Final Ranking: No. 4
1992: Miami Hurricanes
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Miami went through the regular season undefeated, but couldn't hold it together against Alabama.
Final Ranking: No. 3
1993: Florida State Seminoles
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Florida State lost to Notre Dame 31-24, but the Seminoles were able to come back and win the national championship.
Final Ranking: No. 1
1994: Florida Gators
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Florida lost to Auburn, then both tied and lost to Florida State in the same season.
Final Ranking: No. 7
1995: Florida State Seminoles
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How many Florida teams did the pollsters choose in a row?
And in this stretch the pollsters got one out of six right.
Final Ranking: No. 4
1996: Nebraska Cornhuskers
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Nebraska's stay at the top in 1996 was short-lived.
Arizona State put an end to that in a 19-0 win.
Final Ranking: No. 6
1997: Penn State Nittany Lions
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Three teams took down the Nittany Lions in 1997.
Penn State's No. 16 finish is the worst of any preseason No. 1 in the last 25 years.
Final Ranking: No. 16
1998: Ohio State Buckeyes
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Four points against Michigan State kept Ohio State from winning the national championship.
Final Ranking: No. 2
1999: Florida State Seminoles
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This team was one of the few to remain in the top spot from beginning to end.
Most impressive.
Final Ranking: No. 1
2000: Nebraska Cornhuskers
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Losses to Oklahoma and Kansas State kept Nebraska out of the national championship and the BCS.
Final Ranking: No. 8
2001: Florida Gators
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Florida lost two games by a grand total of five points.
Final Ranking: No. 3
2002: Miami Hurricanes
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It took two overtimes and some questionable calls for Ohio State to take down Miami.
Final Ranking: No. 2
2003: Oklahoma Sooners
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Jason White won the Heisman, and the Sooners scored a lot of points, but they couldn't outscore LSU to take the national championship.
Final Ranking: No. 3
2004: USC Trojans
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USC was the last team to start and finish the season No. 1.
Of course, that really doesn't count now.
Final Ranking: No. 1*
*Due to NCAA sanctions, the Trojans' 2005 Orange Bowl victory was vacated, but USC remains the 2004 BCS national champion pending a decision by the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee.
2005: USC Trojans
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Vince Young and Texas stopped USC from winning another championship.
Of course, had USC won, they would have had to vacate it anyway.
Final Ranking: No. 2*
2006: Ohio State Buckeyes
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Ohio State had Troy Smith.
Florida had Tim Tebow.
Florida won.
Final Ranking: No. 2
2007: USC Trojans
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Stanford's upset of USC stands out as one of the most memorable in history.
Final Ranking: No. 3
2008: Georgia Bulldogs
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The pollsters got the conference right, but chose the wrong team.
Georgia beat three ranked teams, but also lost to three ranked teams.
Final Ranking: No. 13
2009: Florida Gators
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Florida and Tim Tebow got upstaged by Alabama for both the SEC and national championships.
Final Ranking: No. 3
2010: Alabama Crimson Tide
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Right state, wrong team.
Final Ranking: No. 10
Final Stats
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Number of Times Preseason No. 1 Has Won National Championship
Nine (not including USC in 2004)
Percentage Since 1950
15 percent
Average Final Ranking for Preseason No. 1
5.29
Most Successful Team as Preseason No. 1
Oklahoma (started and finished No. 1 four times)
Least Successful Team as Preseason No. 1
Notre Dame (never started and finished No. 1 after five tries)
In 2011, Oklahoma can't be liking that 15 percent, but the Sooners can take comfort in the fact that they have dealt with the "Curse of Being No. 1" better than any other team in history.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
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