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1996: AP preseason, postseason college football rankings
Best climber: Brigham Young, unranked to No. 5
The Cougars lost the season opener at Washington and rattled off 14 wins in a row, including a hard-fought 19-15 victory over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. Also, Arizona State went from No. 20 to No. 4, coming within 19 seconds of completing a perfect season -- losing its national title chance in the final minute of the Rose Bowl. Another high climber was North Carolina going from unranked to the Top 10.
Taking a dive: USC, No. 7 to unranked
Coming off a Rose Bowl victory over Northwestern, the Trojans plummeted to 6-6 overall and a tie for fifth in the Pac-10, losing a pair of double-overtime heartbreakers to Arizona State and UCLA. That started a current string of five consecutive years in which the Trojans have been at least three games behind the Pac-10 leader.
| Preseason |
Postseason |
| Rank |
Team |
Rank |
Team |
| 1. |
Nebraska |
1. |
Florida |
| 2. |
Tennessee |
2. |
Ohio State |
| 3. |
Florida State |
3. |
Florida State |
| 4. |
Florida |
4. |
Arizona State |
| 5. |
Colorado |
5. |
Brigham Young |
| 6. |
Notre Dame |
6. |
Nebraska |
| 7. |
USC |
7. |
Penn State |
| 8. |
Texas |
8. |
Colorado |
| 9. |
Ohio State |
9. |
Tennessee |
| 10. |
Syracuse |
10. |
North Carolina |
| 11. |
Penn State |
11. |
Alabama |
| 12. |
Miami |
12. |
LSU |
| 13. |
Texas A&M |
13. |
Virginia Tech |
| 14. |
Michigan |
14. |
Miami |
| 15. |
Alabama |
15. |
Northwestern |
| 16. |
Virginia Tech |
16. |
Washington |
| 17. |
Auburn |
17. |
Kansas State |
| 18. |
Northwestern |
18. |
Iowa |
| 19. |
LSU |
19. |
Notre Dame |
| 20. |
Arizona State |
20. |
Michigan |
| 21. |
Kansas State |
21. |
Syracuse |
| 22. |
Iowa |
22. |
Wyoming |
| 23. |
Virginia |
23. |
Texas |
| 24. |
Kansas |
24. |
Auburn |
| 25. |
Clemson |
25. |
Army |
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