Aug. 23--It was no surprise Sunday when Ohio State opened at No. 1 in the first Associated Press college football poll.
The Buckeyes return most of the key components from last year's national title team.
Sunday's poll, though, was historic.
Ohio State became the first unanimous pick in the history of the AP index, which began in 1936.
The Buckeyes received all 61 first-place votes and start the year with a stronghold on No. 1. Texas Christian is second, followed by Alabama, Baylor and Michigan State.
Auburn is sixth, then Oregon, USC, Georgia and Florida State.
UCLA starts out No. 13 in the first poll.
A couple of observations: Two Big 12 schools that thought they belonged in last year's first four-team playoff, rank second and fourth in the first poll.
The Pac-12, considered by most the second best conference behind the SEC, is three spots removed from a playoff spot.
Oregon, which lost to Ohio State in last year's title game, is the closest Pac-12 team at seventh.
The impact of the AP poll has diminished since the introduction of last year's playoff.
While the AP can still crown an independent champion, as it did with USC in 2003, it is highly unlikely an AP champion would come from outside the four playoff teams.
Alabama is the all-time leader in AP championships with nine, followed by Notre Dame (8), Oklahoma (7), with USC and Miami each earning five.
Being picked by the AP is no guarantee for success. In fact, the last preseason No. 1 to win the final AP poll was USC in 2004.
