2006 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Three human polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a National Championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season, two additional polls are released, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS Standings. At the end of the season, the BCS Standings determines who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship Game.

This article demonstrates the fluctuation in rankings on a weekly basis in college football during the 2006 football season. The team voted number one in the final AP and Coaches Polls can claim the title of National Champion. The BCS Rankings and Harris Poll do not vote in a final poll as their sole purpose is to determine who plays in the BCS National Championship Game. Other polls exist and may vote for different schools which causes confusion, especially for split titles. But generally, only the AP and Coaches Polls are used in crowning the National Champion.

AP poll
The Associated Press (AP) preseason poll was released August 18, 2006. The AP Poll is the oldest poll still in use and is compiled by sportswriters across the nation. This season was the second season since the inception of the BCS that the AP Poll was not included in the BCS formula. The AP ordered a cease and desist to stop the BCS from using their poll and the BCS complied and created the Harris Interactive Poll in response. The poll operates identically to the Coaches and Harris Polls, except there is no inclusion into the BCS.

After week 12, AP voter Jim Kleinpeter of the New Orleans Times-Picayune was removed on November 15, 2006 for erroneously lowering Oklahoma despite their win over Texas Tech.

Coaches Poll
The Coaches Poll is the 2nd oldest poll still in use after the AP Poll and is compiled by a rotating group of 62 college football Division I head coaches. Each voting member ranks teams from 1 to 25. Each team then receives points for their ranking in reverse order: Number 1 earns 25 points, number 2 earns 24 points, and so forth. The points are then combined and the team with the highest points is then ranked #1; second highest is ranked No. 2 and so forth. Only the top 25 teams with points are ranked, with teams receiving first place votes noted the quantity next to their name. Any team receiving votes after the top 25 are listed after the top 25 by their point totals. However, these are not real rankings: They are not considered No. 26, #27, etc. The maximum points a single team can earn is 1550.

Jim Tressel, head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, refused to vote in the Week 15 poll, citing a conflict of interest. In a change to the Coaches Poll for the 2006 season, the final ballots are made public. Tressel did not want his vote of picking Florida or Michigan to play against his team to be known publicly and therefore refused to vote and was an unprecedented move in that no Coaches Poll voter has ever refused to vote.

Harris Interactive Poll
The Harris Poll is the newest poll as it was created in 2005 to replace the AP Poll in the BCS formula and consists of former players, coaches, administrators, and current and former media who submit votes for the top 25 teams each week. The panel has been designed to be a statistically valid representation of all 11 Division I FBS Conferences and independent institutions. The poll operates identically to the Coaches Poll, except with 114 members, the point values of the highest ranked teams are higher than the Coaches Poll. The maximum points a single team can earn is 2850 points. The poll ends at the conclusion of the regular season, and does not produce another poll after the bowl games.

BCS rankings
The BCS rankings are a based on a formula composed of the Coaches Poll, the Harris Interactive Poll and six computer rankings. These rankings are usually released around the seventh week of the season and the results of this poll decide which teams play in which bowl games as well as which two teams will play in the BCS National Championship Game. The BCS Rankings are generated by taking the points received in each poll individually, and dividing by the total points that a single team could earn if they were ranked No. 1 by every member. For example, the maximum total points in the Coaches Poll is 1550, and if a team earns 1387 points, their score in the BCS for the Coaches Poll would be 895. The BCS Rankings then does the same for the Harris Interactive Poll. Next, the highest and lowest rankings of the 6 computer rankings are dropped, the remaining 4 combined with the points (again awarded by position) and divided by 100. The three percentages are then averaged, and the highest average is then awarded 1st place in the BCS Rankings.

USA Today/Gallup Fan Poll
The USA Today/Gallup Fan Poll is an unofficial poll sponsored by the news publisher USA Today and the polling agency Gallup. The preseason poll was released on August 24, 2006. The poll represents 400 college football fans from across the country that were recruited by Gallup to participate. Fans had to "demonstrate a high degree of interest in and knowledge of the sport and commit to being a serious evaluator of teams as the season unfolds." Unlike the other polls, this poll only included the top 15 teams and has no bearing on any formula for determining post season play and is used merely as a gauge to compare against the similar polls voted on by college football coaches and writers.

BlogPoll
The BlogPoll is a poll run and voted on by sports bloggers. 2006 is the 2nd year of the poll. Over 60 separate blogs voted in the poll throughout the year. It is administered by the Michigan blog mgoblog.

Preseason polls
Various publications release their preseason top 25 months before the season commences. The 2006–07 BCS Champion Florida Gators are highlighted in gold. ! 5. ! 6. ! 6. ! 7. ! 7. ! 8. ! 8. ! 9. ! 9. ! 10. ! 10. ! 11. ! 11. ! 12. ! 12. ! 13. ! 13. ! 14. ! 14. ! 15. ! 15. ! 16. ! 16. ! 17. ! 17. ! 18. ! 18. ! 19. ! 19. ! 20. ! 20. ! 21. ! 21. ! 22. ! 22. ! 23. ! 23. ! 24. ! 24. ! 25. ! 25. ! rowspan="2" | Athlon ! rowspan="2" | Lindy's ! rowspan="2" | Gold Sheet ! rowspan="2" | Phil Steele ! Original ! Revised ! Original ! Revised ! rowspan="2" | Real Football 365 ! rowspan="2" | Sports Illustrated ! rowspan="2" | CFP Users ! colspan="2" | Sporting News ! colspan="2" | College Football News
 * Texas
 * USC
 * Notre Dame
 * West Virginia
 * USC
 * Texas
 * Miami
 * USC
 * USC
 * Auburn
 * LSU
 * LSU
 * West Virginia
 * LSU
 * Texas
 * Oklahoma
 * USC
 * Notre Dame
 * Texas
 * Texas
 * LSU
 * California
 * Florida State
 * Auburn
 * Auburn
 * California
 * Auburn
 * Florida State
 * Ohio State
 * style="background:#daa520;"| Florida
 * style="background:#daa520;"| Florida
 * California
 * Oklahoma
 * California
 * California
 * Oklahoma
 * Auburn
 * California
 * Notre Dame
 * Virginia Tech
 * Oklahoma
 * Florida State
 * style="background:#daa520;"| Florida
 * style="background:#daa520;"| Florida
 * Michigan
 * style="background:#daa520;"| Florida
 * Louisville
 * Louisville
 * LSU
 * California
 * Florida State
 * Florida State
 * Iowa
 * Tennessee
 * Tennessee
 * USC
 * Michigan
 * style="background:#daa520;"| Florida
 * LSU
 * Michigan
 * LSU
 * Michigan
 * Iowa
 * Georgia
 * Florida State
 * Florida State
 * Auburn
 * Georgia
 * Florida State
 * Clemson
 * Florida State
 * Texas Tech
 * Tennessee
 * Georgia
 * California
 * Clemson
 * Clemson
 * Clemson
 * Florida State
 * Miami
 * Michigan
 * Louisville
 * Iowa
 * Arkansas
 * California
 * Miami
 * Michigan
 * Michigan
 * style="background:#daa520;"| Florida
 * Louisville
 * Georgia
 * Miami
 * Georgia
 * Georgia
 * Georgia
 * Miami
 * Penn State
 * Louisville
 * Louisville
 * Louisville
 * Oklahoma
 * California
 * Georgia
 * Utah
 * Louisville
 * Iowa
 * Penn State
 * Virginia Tech
 * West Virginia
 * West Virginia
 * Georgia
 * Clemson
 * Virginia Tech
 * Iowa
 * Miami
 * Miami
 * California
 * Virginia Tech
 * Michigan
 * Virginia Tech
 * Virginia Tech
 * Arizona State
 * Arizona State
 * Michigan
 * Florida State
 * TCU
 * Michigan
 * West Virginia
 * Michigan
 * Tennessee
 * Nebraska
 * Nebraska
 * Penn State
 * Miami
 * TCU
 * TCU
 * Clemson
 * Alabama
 * Clemson
 * Tennessee
 * Louisville
 * Notre Dame
 * Notre Dame
 * Virginia Tech
 * Nebraska
 * Iowa
 * Oregon
 * Arizona State
 * Virginia Tech
 * Boise State
 * Louisville
 * Texas Tech
 * Georgia
 * Georgia
 * Utah
 * Penn State
 * Clemson
 * Tennessee
 * Virginia Tech
 * Navy
 * style="background:#daa520;"| Florida
 * Texas Tech
 * TCU
 * Arizona State
 * Arizona State
 * Miami
 * Oregon
 * Penn State
 * Virginia Tech
 * Penn State
 * Utah
 * LSU
 * TCU
 * Nebraska
 * Iowa
 * Iowa
 * Nebraska
 * Nebraska
 * Nebraska
 * Texas Tech
 * Nebraska
 * Arizona State
 * Nebraska
 * Nebraska
 * Oregon
 * Penn State
 * Penn State
 * Texas Tech
 * Texas Tech
 * Texas Tech
 * Utah
 * Oregon
 * Tennessee
 * Utah
 * Oregon
 * Clemson
 * Georgia Tech
 * Georgia Tech
 * Oregon
 * Oregon
 * Oregon
 * Arizona State
 * Texas Tech
 * Boston College
 * Purdue
 * Clemson
 * Oklahoma
 * Alabama
 * Alabama
 * Alabama
 * Alabama
 * Alabama
 * Nebraska
 * Iowa
 * Georgia Tech
 * Oregon
 * Alabama
 * Alabama
 * Missouri
 * Missouri
 * Boston College
 * Boston College
 * Boston College
 * }