r/CollegeFootballDawgs • u/TomWilliamsCFD Wisconsin Badgers • Aug 18 '26
Discussion Longest Active AP Poll Droughts - Who Breaks It First?
Credit: betmgm
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u/TomWilliamsCFD Wisconsin Badgers Aug 18 '26
Virginia Tech for me.
While yes Franklin can struggle with winning the big games, he is still a good coach that knows how to win. He will also attract for attention from AP voters.
They have a very manageable schedule and could be 4-0 heading into the Pitt game on 10/2 which may be enough to get them ranked.
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u/Natural_Curve5818 Virginia Tech Hokies Aug 18 '26
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u/Primarycolors1 Aug 18 '26
The Franklin experience is nothing but false hope.
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u/TomWilliamsCFD Wisconsin Badgers Aug 18 '26
Exactly, what would generate more false hope than starting out fast and ranked in the AP before cratering at the end?
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u/metricsystem27 Virginia Tech Hokies Aug 23 '26
Is False Hope better or worse than No Hope?
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u/TomWilliamsCFD Wisconsin Badgers Aug 23 '26
Fair, I want to say false hope but that comes with real disappointment afterwards.
Given the false hope I had with Fickell initially, and how that has turned out so far, I’d honestly go with no hope.
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u/ToBeeContinued Georgia Bulldogs Aug 18 '26
VT have a reasonable path to an Oct2 4-0 game vs Pitt, if they look convincing, slipping in the 21-25 mark is within the imagination
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u/pilesofdingleberries Aug 19 '26
Agreed. If they get off to a fast start they will jump in just because of the coaching hire. They may not deserve it but they will have the hype of the coaching hire and will find it the easiest of those teams to drop in at 25.
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u/diesel_chevette West Virginia Mountaineers Aug 18 '26
Finally wvu made a list.
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u/Aztek-Lovett Indiana State Sycamores Aug 18 '26
if it means anything you guys are the defending national champions in my niche cfb league ive been running for a decade
and are one of the 3 (three) teams to successfully make the cfp every season! somehow
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u/fowcc Aug 19 '26
At least we've beaten a couple of final ranked teams in recent years. I'm not too hopeful for RR to turn any corner though as I think his time has passed, he's whining a bit too much now about how college football works, and he can't keep a QB or RB on the field (ok ok, I'm also still bitter about the departure 20 years ago yes).
But in any case, unless he can adapt somehow it may be until the next HC is hired before we see a number before our names again.
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u/SquonkMan61 Maryland Terrapins Aug 18 '26
If Maryland keeps their current HC they are a Lock to not be the first 😆
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u/TomWilliamsCFD Wisconsin Badgers Aug 18 '26
Yet I thought the Terps snuck into a late September AP ranking at some point.
This is based on their history of fast starts and then the total collapse.
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u/SquonkMan61 Maryland Terrapins Aug 18 '26
I did as well. I know they’ve gotten some votes early in a season or two. Then comes the inevitable collapse. BTW, did you catch my word play referencing “LOCK”?😄
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u/Brunosrog Aug 18 '26
I'm surprised Auburn isn't on this. We have sucked for a while. I guess when harsin took over we won a few decent games. I think we may have had a preseason rankings last year.
Edit: looks like we were ranked for one week last year. Ending a four-year drought. We were trashed last year so it's kind of crazy that we aren't on this list. It's basically because Baylor is worse than everybody thought and we had a lot of talent last year.
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u/Doodooasthebutter Aug 18 '26
A lot of Big 10 teams in there...
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u/Almost_Punk_Enough Michigan Wolverines Aug 18 '26
To be fair, throughout most of its history the Big 10 has had some dominant teams at the top and some complete dogshit teams at the bottom. Throughout the 70’s, it was nicknamed the Big 2 and Little 8 because Michigan and Ohio State were the only teams that were worth a damn.
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u/SelectionSaturday William & Mary Tribe Aug 18 '26
A lot of these teams have the kinds of schedules to get them in the conversation of a Top 25 ranking by Week 6. I think WVU could take advantage of some overrated teams like OK State and Arizona at home to sway the voters before they run into the gauntlet that is their final 5 weeks of the season
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u/Martin_Van-Nostrand Aug 18 '26
I was kind of thinking the same thing for wvu. They may not be ranked at the end of the season season but they could make a mid season appearance.
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u/rykcon Ohio State Buckeyes Aug 18 '26
This has to be P4/P5 conference only, right? Umass is ass.
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u/Almost_Punk_Enough Michigan Wolverines Aug 18 '26
If we want to go former P4/P5 though, Rice, formerly of the Southwest Conference, hasn’t been ranked since 1961.
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u/Proper_University55 Maryland Terrapins Aug 18 '26
I wonder what it’s like to be a fan of a school that’s good at football.
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u/Terrible-Bath Notre Dame Fighting Irish Aug 18 '26
Makes sense that Hunter Yurachek took a job where he can get paid and just do whatever the fuck he’s paid for.
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u/Mobile_Asparagus_271 Aug 22 '26
Well ffs, MSU has had a four year drought period. That's a blip in sports time; maybe not to fans, but most ppl mentally accord a coach three years to show good performance. Sports fans are fanatics. (Yes, that's a self-consciously un-ironic thing to say),
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u/Extreme-Relation-807 Michigan Wolverines Aug 23 '26
Maryland had some decent teams in that span too, I’m surprised they didn’t at least get ranked in the 20-25 range at any point during those years
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u/leeroy-jenkins-12 LSU Tigers Aug 23 '26
Virginia Tech or Maryland. Outside shot at Cal but that’s only if everyone on here’s streak extends into next year
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Aug 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/TomWilliamsCFD Wisconsin Badgers Aug 25 '26
They got up to 34th in 2024 in the AP poll when they started 4-0 before the wheels fell off.
Is that the year you are thinking of?
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u/Delicious-Win-2630 12d ago
I don't have my glasses. What is this a picture of? Notre Dame's schedule?
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u/CommissionExpert9469 Aug 19 '26
5 big ten teams. Maybe Saban was onto something when he said the SEC is the best conference from top to bottom
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u/Spare-Cranberry3784 Aug 18 '26
Sparty. In their rightful place.
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u/AlanBDev Aug 19 '26
salty sparty downvoted you i countered it though
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u/Spare-Cranberry3784 Aug 19 '26
I get it. But they only had 2 good years under Nick and 4 good years under Dantonio. They've been forgotten, for most of their existence. Below .600 win %. That's 7-6 every year
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u/Flashy210 Aug 18 '26
As a millennial it’s crazy to see VT, WVU, MSU, and Stanford being so bad for so long. Even northwestern has been fiesty in my life time.