AP Top 25 ranking system explained

Silas Albright, Reporter
October 12, 2019

Each week, the Associated Press releases a Top 25 ranking of the best teams in college football. A group of 62 sportswriters and members of the media from across the country vote on the rankings. Whichever team has the most votes is ranked No. 1, and the rest of the teams are ranked in order of greatest to least amount of votes.

Media members use criteria such as the teams overall record and strength of schedule to cast their votes.

There are always several teams that receive votes, but not enough to put them in the Top 25. App State has been one of these teams each week so far in 2019.

The poll is released every Sunday at 2 p.m., and the Mountaineers have gradually gained votes each week. On Oct. 6, the Mountaineers received 61 votes, putting them in 28th place, just three slots short of the official Top 25.

App State has only been ranked once, coming in at No. 25 for one week last season. The Mountaineers were 5-1 with an overtime loss at No. 10 Penn State when they got ranked, but lost their next game at Georgia Southern and didn’t make it back into the Top 25 for the rest of the season.

This year, App State is 4-0 with a win over Power 5 opponent UNC. The upcoming matchup at Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 9 will affect the number of votes App State receives. With a win, there’s a strong chance the Mountaineers could crack next week’s Top 25.

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