Only one school has appeared in more Bowl Championship Series championship games and College Football Playoffs than Oklahoma.
Alabama has appeared in a total of 10 BCS championships and College Football Playoffs. Oklahoma in next in line with nine combined appearances, followed by Ohio State with seven.
Clemson, which has appeared in six of the seven College Football Playoffs and won two championships, never made it into a BCS national championship.
Alabama leads all schools with six national championship since the introduction of the BCS format in 1998. LSU in next with three, followed by Clemson, Ohio State and Florida with two and Oklahoma and five other schools with one.
The BCS era ran from 1998 through the 2013 season and determined via a mix of computers and the human polls the top two teams that would play for the national championship. The College Football Playoff replaced the BCS in 2014 and expanded the championship format to four teams, which were determined by a 13-member selection committee.
Here's a look at the teams with the most all-time appearances at No. 1 in the BCS and CFP rankings 👀
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) July 3, 2021
Which team is the most surprising? pic.twitter.com/jpZSBiFl4G
Under both championship formats a top-25 ranking system was developed that rivaled the traditional weekly polls (Associated Press and Coaches Poll) but didn’t come out until the late October, early November time frame and continued on a weekly basis through about the first week in December. Then on Selection Sunday, following the conference championship games, the top two teams were locked in and revealed under the BCS system and the final four teams under the current CFP structure.
This past Saturday on the FOX College Football Twitter account, they posted an interesting graphic showing the frequency of No. 1 appearances by teams in both the BCS and CFP eras.
Oklahoma appeared in the No. 1 spot 20 times in the 16 seasons the BCS rankings were in place, the most of any school. Alabama appeared 16 times at No. 1 and Ohio State and USC 15 times.
Alabama has dominated the top spot in the CFP rankings, appearing 23 times at No. 1. The next closest is Clemson, which commanded the No. 1 position eight times.
Interestingly, Alabama, Ohio State and LSU are the only schools that have appeared in the No. 1 spot at least three times in both eras.