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AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1980 to 1989 Final Top
Where did all the top teams rank in the final 1980 to 1989 top 25 AP college football poll? Which programs made the cut and which ones just missed out, but received votes?
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According to the final AP rankings, how do the programs rank all-time, by decade, and by era? Which ones were the best over the 1980s?
Take all the AP final rankings and use our CFN scoring system – the AP national champion gets 25 points, the No. 2 team 24, No. 3 23, and so on down to the bottom.
Miami turned into the team of the 1980s with its three national championships and the swagger and style to go with them, but Nebraska had the most overall success in the AP poll. There wasn’t a national title, but the program was in the fight year after year.
1980s AP National Champions
1980 Georgia, 1981 Clemson, 1982 Penn State, 1983 Miami, 1984 BYU, 1985 Oklahoma, 1986 Penn State, 1987 Miami, 1988 Notre Dame, 1989 Miami
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s
1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
AP Top 20 & 25 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985
1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989
AP College Football Poll: 1980 to 1989 Final All-Time Rankings
1 Nebraska 190
2 Miami 174
3 Michigan 144
4 Oklahoma 142
5 UCLA 128
6 Penn State 125
T7 Auburn 124
T7 Florida State 124
9 Georgia 113
10 Clemson 112
11 Alabama 106
T12 Ohio State 99
T12 USC 99
14 BYU 85
15 SMU 83
16 Washington 80
17 Pitt 79
18 LSU 76
19 Notre Dame 75
20 Arkansas 69
21 Iowa 66
22 Florida 64
23 Arizona State 58
T24 Tennessee 55
T24 Texas A&M 55
Others Receiving Votes: 26 Texas 54, 27 West Virginia 52, 28 Oklahoma State 49, 29 North Carolina 41, T30 Baylor 35, T30 Boston College 35, T30 Syracuse 35, 33 Illinois 32, 34 Air Force 31, T35 Maryland 28, T35 Michigan State 28, 37 South Carolina 26, 38 Colorado 22, 39 Houston 20, 40 Arizona 16, 41 Virginia 14, 42 Washington State 10, 43 Purdue 9, T44 Kentucky 7, T44 Georgia Tech 7, T44 Mississippi State 7, T44 Missouri 7, T44 Texas Tech 7, T49 East Carolina 6, T49 Indiana 6, T49 Virginia Tech 6
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 & 25 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985
1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989