Which Schools Have Appeared the Most in the College Football Playoff Rankings?
Three schools have appeared in every edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.
Only three schools have been ranked in every edition of the College Football Playoff rankings – Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. That trio, plus Oklahoma, has combined for 14 of the 20 playoff berths since the College Football Playoff replaced the BCS beginning in 2014.
Here’s the list of schools that have been ranked the most in the College Football Playoff rankings, listed in order of most weeks ranked, then playoff appearances, then the highest ranking earned by the school (with the number of weeks they’ve earned their best ranking in parentheses).
The chart below isn’t a perfect way to evaluate or rank the most successful college football programs during the playoff era, but it does provide a big-picture outlook of which schools have been in the playoff discussion the most often since the start of the 2014 season.
| School | CFP Appearances | Weeks Ranked | High Rank |
| Alabama | 5 | 34 | 1 (18) |
| Clemson | 4 | 34 | 1 (8) |
| Ohio State | 2 | 34 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 3 | 32 | 2 |
| LSU | 0 | 30 | 1 (2) |
| Utah | 0 | 27 | 7 (2) |
| Notre Dame | 1 | 24 | 3 (7) |
| Auburn | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 23 | 4 |
| Georgia | 1 | 22 | 1 (2) |
| Mississippi State | 0 | 22 | 1 (3) |
| Michigan | 0 | 22 | 3 (4) |
| Penn State | 0 | 21 | 4 |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 21 | 6 |
| Michigan State | 1 | 20 | 3 |
| Florida | 0 | 20 | 8 |
| Florida State | 1 | 19 | 2 (2) |
| TCU | 0 | 19 | 3 |
| USC | 0 | 18 | 8 |
| Washington | 1 | 17 | 4 (3) |
| Baylor | 0 | 17 | 5 |
| Washington State | 0 | 17 | 8 (4) |
| Boise State | 0 | 17 | 19 |
| Stanford | 0 | 15 | 6 |
| Northwestern | 0 | 15 | 13 |
| Oregon | 1 | 14 | 2 (5) |
| West Virginia | 0 | 14 | 9 (2) |
| Iowa | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| Ole Miss | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| UCF | 0 | 12 | 8 (2) |
| Memphis | 0 | 12 | 13 |
| Louisville | 0 | 11 | 5 |
| UCLA | 0 | 10 | 8 |
| Navy | 0 | 10 | 15 |
| Texas A&M | 0 | 9 | 4 |
| Kansas State | 0 | 9 | 7 |
| Virginia Tech | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Iowa State | 0 | 9 | 15 |
| Arizona | 0 | 8 | 7 |
| Nebraska | 0 | 8 | 10 |
| Arizona State | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| North Carolina | 0 | 7 | 10 (2) |
| Texas | 0 | 7 | 14 (2) |
| NC State | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Houston | 0 | 7 | 18 |
| Miami (FL) | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Colorado | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Kentucky | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| Georgia Tech | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| Syracuse | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| Western Michigan | 0 | 6 | 15 |
| Missouri | 0 | 6 | 16 (2) |
| Tennessee | 0 | 6 | 17 |
| Temple | 0 | 6 | 22 (3) |
| Fresno State | 0 | 5 | 21 |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 4 | 17 |
| Boston College | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Duke | 0 | 3 | 21 |
| Pittsburgh | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| Utah State | 0 | 2 | 21 |
| Toledo | 0 | 2 | 24 (2) |
| Appalachian State | 0 | 2 | 24 |
| SMU | 0 | 2 | 25 (2) |
| Wake Forest | 0 | 1 | 19 |
| East Carolina | 0 | 1 | 23 |
| Marshall | 0 | 1 | 24 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 1 | 24 |
| Arkansas | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| Virginia | 0 | 1 | 25 |
MORE: This Is How Much It Costs To Land One Of College Football’s Top Recruiting Classes
