College Football Champions: Where Did the Past Quarter-Century Champions Start in Preseason Polls?

Christopher Boan Profile Picture
Fact Checked by Jim Tomlin

After pulling off the school’s first College Football Playoff title in a decade, the Ohio State Buckeyes football team will try to repeat this fall.

With that in mind, BetOhio.com pulled data from the past 25 years’ worth of CFB champions to see where they ranked in preseason Associated Press polling the season they won it all.

Deposit required. Paid in Bonus Bets. Bets wager excluded from returns. New Customer only. T&Cs, time limits and exclusions apply. Must be 21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Where Do CFB Champions Start?

Preseason Poll

Percent of Champions

2nd

35%

5th

15%

3rd

12%

1st

8%

6th

4%

7th

4%

8th

4%

11th

4%

13th

4%

14th

4%

19th

4%

22nd

4%

BetOhio.com will offer the best Ohio sports betting promotions plus more college football coverage as the season approaches. This data covers 26 teams in 25 seasons (there were two teams that split the 2003 national title).

Dating to 2000, the lowest-ranked team to win at least a share of the national championship at season’s end was Auburn in 2010. Those Tigers started the season ranked 22nd in AP poll before surging to a BCS title on the back of quarterback Cam Newton’s Heisman Trophy season.

Only five teams since 2000 have won it all in CFB after starting the season ranked 10th or lower in the preseason AP poll. Florida State in 2013 (11th), Ohio State in 2002 (13th), LSU in 2003 (14th) and Oklahoma in 2000 (19th) joining that Tigers team from 2010 in taking a long climb to the top.

Ohio sports betting apps now have preseason odds for national and conference championships for the upcoming season, plus point spreads and moneylines on selected games. More odds will be available as games draw closer.

Overall, the preseason position in the polls that netted the most champions at year’s end was the No. 2 spot. Nine teams – Miami in 2001, Texas in 2005, LSU in 2007, Alabama in 2011 and 2012, Clemson in 2016 and 2018, Michigan in 2023 and Ohio State in 2024 – hoisted the hardware after starting the season in that spot.

GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Please Gamble Responsibly. 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), or visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). 21+ and present in most states. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY). Void in ONT/OR/NH. Eligibility restrictions apply. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort (KS). 1 per new customer. $5+ first-time bet req. Max. $150 issued as non-withdrawable Bonus Bets that expire in 7 days (168 hours). Stake removed from payout. Terms: sportsbook.draftkings.com/promos. Ends 8/3/25 at 11:59 PM ET. Sponsored by DK.

CFP Era National Champions

Year

Team

Preseason Poll

2024

Ohio State

2nd

2023

Michigan

2nd

2022

Georgia

3rd

2021

Georgia

5th

2020

Alabama

3rd

2019

LSU

6th

2018

Clemson

2nd

2017

Alabama

1st

2016

Clemson

2nd

2015

Alabama

3rd

2014

Ohio State

5th

Since the dawn of the CFP in 2014, the average ranking of the team that won it all at season’s end was 3.1, with the lowest being LSU in 2019 (6th) and two winners starting the season at No. 5 (Ohio State in 2014 and Georgia in 2021).

The past two CFP winners have started the year at No. 2 in the polls – archrivals Michigan and Ohio State, respectively. Georgia in 2022 and Clemson in 2016 and 2018 were No. 3 in the preseason top 25, speaking to the value that comes from beginning the year on high ground in the rankings. This could be a trend worth remembering for Ohio sports betting.

BCS Era National Champions

Year

Team

Preseason Poll

2013

Florida State

11th

2012

Alabama

2nd

2011

Alabama

2nd

2010

Auburn

22nd

2009

Alabama

5th

2008

Florida

5th

2007

LSU

2nd

2006

Florida

7th

2005

Texas

2nd

2004

USC

1st

2003

LSU

14th

2003

USC

8th

2002

Ohio State

13th

2001

Miami

2nd

2000

Oklahoma

19th

While the past 11 years have largely followed the preseason poll, the same cannot be said of the Bowl Championship Series era from 2000 through 2013. That span, well before Ohio college football betting was legal and regulated, netted five champions that started the season ranked outside the top 10 and 10 schools that won at least one title during that stretch.

When you include the 2003 season that had the lone split title this century (with LSU winning the BCS championship and USC taking home the AP title), the first 11 seasons of the 21st century were wild and wacky, especially compared with the top-heavy nature of the CFP era from 2014 onward.

Overall, the BCS era from 2000 through 2013 had a higher average preseason ranking (7.7) than the CFP era (3.1), illustrating just how concentrated the balance of power has gotten.

At DraftKings Ohio Sportsbook, the Buckeyes top the list of CFB champion futures at +500 odds as of July 8, followed by Texas (+550), Georgia (+700), Penn State (+750), Oregon (+950) and Clemson (+1100).

USA Today photo by Kirby Lee

Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan writes for BetOhio.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.

Cited by leading media organizations, such as: