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In 2003, USC didn’t win the BCS, but did top the AP Top 25. Whatever you think of it, the Trojans saw fit to put a trophy in their building. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect.

Ralph Russo spent many years as a college football writer for the AP and an administrator of the AP Top 25. Now a senior writer for The Athletic, Ralph joins Richard for a preseason chat about the poll everyone loves to hate. In two decades at the AP, Ralph saw just about everything. How does the poll come together? What does it say about the history of college football? It’s imperfect, but it’s also our best record of how seasons played out across 90 years. Ralph takes us through the AP Poll’s history, its current status in the CFP era, and why, in a way, it matters now more than ever. Producer: Anthony Vito

FURTHER LISTENING!

In Defense of the AP Poll, feat. Ralph Russo

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