Two human polls comprised the 1966 NCAA University Division football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
| 1966 NCAA University Division football rankings | |
|---|---|
| Season | 1966 |
| Bowl season | 1966–67 bowl games |
| Preseason No. 1 | |
| End of season champions | Notre Dame |
Legend
edit| Increase in ranking | ||
| Decrease in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
| National champion | ||
(#–#)
|
Win–loss record | |
(Italics)
|
Number of first place votes | |
т
|
Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
AP Poll
editThe final AP Poll was released in early December, at the end of the 1966 regular season.[1] In the previous season, the final poll was released in January for the first time, after the bowl games, but not in 1966 or 1967.
The AP Poll ranked only the top ten teams from 1962 through 1967.
| Preseason Aug[2] | Week 1 Sep 19[3] | Week 2 Sep 26[4] | Week 3 Oct 3[5] | Week 4 Oct 10[6] | Week 5 Oct 17[7] | Week 6 Oct 24[8] | Week 7 Oct 31[9] | Week 8 Nov 7[10] | Week 9 Nov 14[11] | Week 10 Nov 21[12] | Week 11 Nov 28[13] | Week 12 (Final) Dec 5[14] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alabama (15) | Michigan State (1–0) (12) | Michigan State (2–0) (22) | Michigan State (3–0) (20) | Michigan State (4–0) (18) | Notre Dame (4–0) (31) | Notre Dame (5–0) (32) | Notre Dame (6–0) (39) | Notre Dame (7–0) (32) | Notre Dame (8–0) (35) | Notre Dame (8–0–1) (37) | Notre Dame (9–0–1) (40) | Notre Dame (9–0–1) (41) | 1. |
| 2. | Michigan State (12) | UCLA (1–0) (13) | UCLA (2–0) (11) | UCLA (3–0) (7) | Notre Dame (3–0) (15) | Michigan State (5–0) (10) | Michigan State (6–0) (5) | Michigan State (7–0) (6) | Michigan State (8–0) (10) | Michigan State (9–0) (6) | Michigan State (9–0–1) (27) | Michigan State (9–0–1) (10) | Michigan State (9–0–1) (8) | 2. |
| 3. | Nebraska (2) | Alabama (0–0) (10) | Alabama (1–0) (2) | Notre Dame (2–0) (8) | Alabama (3–0) (4) | UCLA (5–0) (3) | UCLA (6–0) (2) | UCLA (7–0) (3) | Alabama (7–0) | Alabama (8–0) (1) | Alabama (8–0) (8) | Alabama (9–0) (7) | Alabama (10–0) (7) | 3. |
| 4. | UCLA (6) | Nebraska (1–0) | Notre Dame (1–0) (2) | Alabama (2–0) (3) | UCLA (4–0) (2) | Alabama (4–0) (2) | Alabama (5–0) (1) | Alabama (6–0) (1) | Nebraska (8–0) | Nebraska (9–0) | Nebraska (9–0) (1) | Georgia (9–1) | Georgia (9–1) | 4. |
| 5. | Arkansas | USC (1–0) (2) | USC (2–0) (1) | Arkansas (3–0) (2) | USC (4–0) (1) | USC (5–0) (1) | USC (6–0) (1) | Georgia Tech (7–0) | Georgia Tech (8–0) | Georgia Tech (9–0) | Georgia Tech (9–0) | UCLA (9–1) | UCLA (9–1) | 5. |
| 6. | Notre Dame | Arkansas (1–0) (1) | Nebraska (2–0) | USC (3–0) (1) | Nebraska (4–0) | Georgia Tech (5–0) | Georgia Tech (6–0) | Nebraska (7–0) | Arkansas (7–1) (1) | Arkansas (8–1) (1) | UCLA (9–1) | Nebraska (9–1) | Nebraska (9–1) | 6. |
| 7. | Syracuse | Purdue (1–0) | Arkansas (2–0) (1) | Nebraska (3–0) | Georgia Tech (4–0) | Nebraska (5–0) | Florida (6–0) | Florida (7–0) | USC (7–1) | USC (7–1) | Georgia (8–1) | Purdue (8–2) | Purdue (8–2) | 7. |
| 8. | Purdue | Notre Dame (0–0) (1) | Michigan (2–0) (1) | Tennessee (2–0) | Florida (4–0) | Florida (5–0) | Nebraska (6–0) | Arkansas (6–1) | UCLA (7–1) | UCLA (8–1) | Purdue (8–2) | Georgia Tech (9–1) | Georgia Tech (9–1) | 8. |
| 9. | USC | Michigan (1–0) (1) | Georgia Tech (2–0) | Georgia Tech (3–0) | Purdue (3–1) | Purdue (4–1) | Arkansas (5–1) | USC (6–1) | Georgia (7–1) | Georgia (8–1) | Florida (8–1) | Miami (FL) (7–2–1) | Miami (FL) (7–2–1) | 9. |
| 10. | Tennessee | Baylor (1–0) (1) | Tennessee (1–0) | Florida (3–0) | Baylor (3–1) | Oklahoma (4–0) | Wyoming (6–0) | Tennessee (4–2) | Tennessee (5–2) | Purdue (7–2) | USC (7–2) | SMU (8–2) | SMU (8–2) | 10. |
| Preseason Aug[2] | Week 1 Sep 19[3] | Week 2 Sep 26[4] | Week 3 Oct 3[5] | Week 4 Oct 10[6] | Week 5 Oct 17[7] | Week 6 Oct 24[8] | Week 7 Oct 31[9] | Week 8 Nov 7[10] | Week 9 Nov 14[11] | Week 10 Nov 21[12] | Week 11 Nov 28[13] | Week 12 (Final) Dec 5[14] | ||
Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| None |
Final Coaches Poll
editThe final UPI Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games, in late November.[15][16]
Notre Dame received twenty of the 35 first-place votes; Michigan State received ten, Alabama four, and UCLA one.[17]
| Ranking | Team | Conference | Bowl |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notre Dame | Independent | none |
| 2 | Michigan State | Big Ten | |
| 3 | Alabama | SEC | Won Sugar, 34–7 |
| 4 | Georgia | SEC | Won Cotton, 24–9 |
| 5 | UCLA | AAWU (Pac-8) | none |
| 6 | Purdue | Big Ten | Won Rose, 14–13 |
| 7 | Nebraska | Big Eight | Lost Sugar, 7–34 |
| 8 | Georgia Tech | Independent | Lost Orange, 12–27 |
| 9 | SMU | Southwest | Lost Cotton, 9–24 |
| 10 | Miami (FL) | Independent | Won Liberty, 14–7 |
| 11 | Florida | SEC | Won Orange, 27–12 |
| 12 | Mississippi | SEC | Lost Bluebonnet, 0–19 |
| 13 | Arkansas | Southwest | none |
| 14 | Tennessee | SEC | Won Gator, 18–12 |
| 15 | Wyoming | WAC | Won Sun, 28–20 |
| 16 | Syracuse | Independent | Lost Gator, 12–18 |
| 17 | Houston | Independent | none |
| 18 | USC | AAWU (Pac-8) | Lost Rose, 13–14 |
| 19 | Oregon State | AAWU (Pac-8) | none |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | Independent | Lost Liberty, 7–14 |
- Notre Dame did not participate in bowl games from 1925 through 1968.
- Prior to the 1975 season, the Big Ten and Pac-8 conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl.
- Big Ten champion Michigan State was barred from participation in the Rose Bowl due to the conference's no-repeat rule, in effect from 1946 through 1971.
- The Ivy League has prohibited its members from participating in postseason football since the league was officially formed in 1954.
References
edit- ^ "Polls give No. 1 nod to Notre Dame". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 6, 1967. p. 3B.
- ^ "1966 Preseason AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "September 19, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "September 26, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "October 3, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "October 10, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "October 17, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "October 24, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "October 31, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "November 7, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "November 14, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "November 21, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "November 28, 1966 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "1966 Final AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ Meyers, Jeff (November 29, 1966). "Notre Dame is No. 1 in final UPI balloting". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. p. 26.
- ^ "Irish ride USC win to 1st". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). AP, UPI. November 29, 1966. p. 3B.
- ^ "Notre Dame named national champions". Bend Bulletin. (Oregon). UPI. November 29, 1966. p. 8.