As the obsession with lists, rankings and “all-time” debates steadily climbs to a feverish pitch, the Associated Press has delivered another dandy that will have the sports world screaming over each other until the 2016 season kicks off August 26 in Australia.

AP released its Top 25 College Football Programs of All-Time and Ohio State has taken the title of No.1 in the history of the sport.

AP Names Ohio State Top College Football Program Of All-Time

Using a mathematical system that accounted for poll appearances, No. 1 rankings and national championships, the AP dug through 80 years of polling to determine the Buckeyes were the best choice.

“The Associated Press has been ranking the best teams in college football since 1936,” the publication stated. “Over 80 years and 1,103 polls, a total of 165 schools have been ranked and 44 of them have been ranked No. 1 (Minnesota was the first).”

Each poll appearance counted for one point, with No.1 rankings counting for two points and championships worth 10 points for each title, according to AP.

Ohio State, which garnered 1,112 total points, has appeared on over 77 percent of all AP Top 25 polls, including an appearance in the first year of its existence.

BRIEF HISTORY OF OHIO STATE FOOTBALL

All though the Buckeyes don’t hold the mantle for most championships, (Alabama, 10) OSU owns 105 No. 1 rankings and were listed on 92.57 percent of the polls in the 1970s.

Perhaps the best argument for Ohio State sitting atop the all-time poll is the Buckeyes consistency.

From AP‘s ‘Poll Points’:

“There have only been three seasons during the 80-year history of the AP poll in which the Buckeyes were not ranked at least once, the fewest poll-less seasons of any program.”

Rounding out the top five were Oklahoma (1,055 points), Notre Dame ( 1,042), Alabama (993 ) and Southern California (974).

The Sooners have appeared on 71 percent of all AP Polls and over 100 weeks as the No. 1 team in the nation.

Despite its recent success, four championships in the last seven years, and double digit national titles, the Crimson Tide had 24 fewer No. 1 rankings than the Fighting Irish, which allowed Notre Dame to sneak ahead of Alabama for the three spot.

Finishing up the top 10 were Nebraska, Michigan, Texas, Florida State and Florida, respectively.

SEE FULL AP TOP 100 HERE

The Seminoles were able to edge the Gators for the best program in the Sunshine State due to the length of their success.

FLORIDA STATE VS. FLORIDA RIVALRY HISTORY

Both schools tout three championship titles, but the Noles have 72 No.1 rankings to Florida’s 41, a symptom of the Gators emergence not coming until the mid-1980s.

“The Gators had no top-three appearances before Nov. 26, 1984 and then 95 top-three appearances after,” according to AP.

But the debates wages on.

Some are crying foul for ‘The U’ after Miami, though the school has more championships than the other two Florida institutions, is listed at No. 13.

As expected, LSU (No.11) Penn State (No.12) and Georgia (No. 15) all made the cut, with Wisconsin and Iowa anchoring the final two spots on the Top 25.

The biggest surprise appearances were held by Arkansas, Clemson and Pittsburgh, ranked No. 21-23.

Putting aside Clemson’s dominance under Dabo Swiney, all three have not made much of an impact on the weekly rankings in the last 15 years.

The Razorbacks at No. 21 are a head-scratcher for many, given the Hogs haven’t really been relevant since Darren McFadden left Fayetteville for the NFL in 2007.

Arkansas has only one week at No. 1 in the 80-year history of the AP Poll, but they appear on 37 percent of all polls and have 30 top-three appearances, though only two since 1978.

Surprisingly, Pitt has appeared on almost 27 percent of all AP polls, with two championships and 21 weeks at No. 1. It’s surprising because few people under 40 years old have seen such success.

AP’s Poll Point on Pittsburgh: “The Panthers have not had a top-five appearance during the regular season since Dec. 6, 1982.”

Of course the rankings release has not come without controversy, College Football News purports to have a much more accurate system that finds Oklahoma to be the No.1 college football program of all-time.

The AP’s list credits equal value for ranking No. 25 in week two and ranking No. 2 at the end of a season.

SB Nation’s Jason Kirk feels CFN’s equation is more accurate.

“That’s flawed and somewhat self-promotional, since it implies (1.) appearing in the AP Poll at any point in the season is exactly as valuable as appearing in a season’s final ranking and (2.) all rankings other than No. 1 are equally valuable.”

Here is CFN’s Top 135

Things are looking up and down for the Dallas Cowboys this year. While they are plagued with injuries, especially with quarterback Tony Romo out for the year, losing games and being out of the playoff race within the NFC East, there is one upside within the current offense.

During yesterday’s late afternoon game against the Green Bay Packers, running back Darren McFadden rushed for 111 yards on nine carries, making it his fourth 100-yard game of the year. With this, he has a total of 798 yards rushing which will ultimately lead to 800 yards rushing, his second in his eight-year career. The last time he had reached over 800 yards was in 2010 when he ran for 1,157 yards with the Oakland Raiders.

Despite his career-spanning season, the Cowboys are now 4-9 after losing to the Packers 28-7 yesterday in Lambeau Field. With no playoff hopes in the distance, the Cowboys organization have a lot of questions to answer, especially with star wide receiver Dez Bryant being dormant recently in the offensive scheme and head coach Jason Garrett’s future.

The Dallas Cowboys did very little to pad the running back position. After losing DeMarco Murray, who led the league in rushing with 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns, to free agency, they filled out their backfield with the injury prone Darren McFadden and the unproven backups Lance Dunbar and Joseph Randle.

Yet, with such an uncertain backfield, the Cowboys are strangely “comfortable” with what many analysts see as a big question mark entering the 2015 season.

Dallas Cowboys Are Strangely ‘Comfortable’

“We’re very comfortable,” Jerry Jones told USA Today. “We want to continue to balance the right amount of work for McFadden, Randle, Dunbar, we want to get them the right amount of work, but we don’t want to be foolish as to what we do as we get on into the physical part of training camp. Those are guys we’re planning to go against New York with.”

Obviously, everyone is wondering whether Murray was a product of the fantastic offensive line or will Jones’ refusal to sign him to a big deal be a big mistake? More importantly, could these three running backs, who are likely to share snaps with McFadden leading the way, really take on the load of the team? The veteran Tony Romo, who is entering his first training camp reasonably healthy in quite some time, needs a balanced offense to work with when he is pressured into putting the team on his back, then he usually forces throws and puts his body in grave danger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZogESXd9rM

So again, should the Cowboys be “comfortable” with these backs? Of course, it is something that Jones’ is going to say regardless of how he feels. But the organization did little during the draft and free agency to sure up the position, which reflects great faith in what the team already has there. And this is something that has left plenty of people scratching their heads because all three have not really proven themselves.

McFadden, the seven-year veteran, only played in one full season, which was 2014 — he did not even start all sixteen games and posted atrocious numbers. In fact, injuries have fully impacted McFadden’s career, as he only reached the 1,000-yard milestone once  and was available for only 73 of a possible 112 games.

On top of this, both Dunbar and Randle are young backs with less than 200 combined carries: the former was not even drafted. They have obviously seen snaps over the last few seasons, but not enough to be comfortable with them backing up the likely to be hurt McFadden.

But perhaps the Cowboys see something that we do not. Still, the word “comfortable” and its many variations should stay far away from any description of that backfield.

Darren McFadden has reportedly signed a two year deal with the Dallas Cowboys to fill their need at running back. The move comes after the Cowboys lost star DeMarco Murray to the rival Philadelphia Eagles. Sources say the deal is worth $5.85 million and include a $200,000 bonus.

McFadden has put up some good numbers in his seven seasons as an Oakland Raider. He ran for 4,247 yards and scored 25 touchdowns on the ground and added 1,769 more yards through the air for the silver and black. However, he’s also been constantly hampered by injuries throughout his career and has been unable to keep a full season together consistently.

Last season was McFadden’s first 16 game season in his career. Even still, he ran for just 534 yards, an average of under 3.4 yards per carry, and started the season as a backup behind Maurice Jones-Drew. After Jones-Drew was injured, McFadden was given the opportunity to win back the starting job, but ultimately lost it a second time to Latavius Murray.

Jerry Jones and the Cowboys will be banking on McFadden to have a resurgent season – especially now that they’re without last year’s leading rusher in Murray. With the pressure ramped up for Dallas, this might not be the last big move the Cowboys have in mind as the free agency period continues to roll on.