The inaugural Amway Coaches Poll was released Thursday, with reigning national champion Florida State at the top. To celebrate the poll’s release and the unofficial start of football season, For The Win found one interesting fact that you might not know about each top 25 team.



1. Florida State — Only three teams since 1991 have started and finished the year at No. 1 in the coaches poll.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that two of those teams were Florida State. In both 1993 and 1999, FSU made good on the coaches’ preseason picks. The only other school in the past 23 years to start and finish at No. 1 was USC in 2004.

2. Alabama — Alabama has the same amount of losses in the past five years as it did in the season before Nick Saban was hired.

In 2006, Alabama went 6-7 and fired coach Mike Shula. That offseason, the team hired Nick Saban away from the Miami Dolphins. After a rebuilding year, Saban’s teams became quick contenders and have dropped a total of seven games in the past five seasons.

3. Oklahoma — The Sooners only have a losing record against five schools: Miami, Texas, USC, Notre Dame and …. Northwestern.

Oklahoma has played games against 85 FBS teams in its history. Against schools the Sooners have faced three or more times, they only have losing records against five teams. Four of those are among the most storied programs in college football history. The other is Northwestern. OU is 1-3 lifetime against the mighty Wildcats. Three of those games happened prior to 1961, but the last was in 1997 when Northwestern shutout the Sooners 24-0.

4. Oregon — Based on the number of unique helmets, jerseys, pants and socks Oregon have worn, the Ducks could play until the year 2777 without duplicating a combination.

Oregon football goes through the most wardrobe changers this side of a Beyonce concert. If they wanted to, how many different combinations could the Ducks make? Even the team’s equipment manager doesn’t know the answer! Luckily, the good folks at Wired figured that out. They factored in the 13 helmets, 16 jerseys, eight pants, six shoes and three socks the team wore in seasons prior to 2013. That gear brings 9,984 possible combinations, which would be enough to outfit the team for more than 750 years. The number rises exponentially with every new jersey or helmet.

5. Auburn — The Iron Bowl field goal return will give you goosebumps every time. It’s a medical fact.

Chris Davis’ field goal return is the rare sports moment that hasn’t been, and can never be, overhyped. It’s simply spectacular (unless you’re Nick Saban).

6. Ohio State — Urban Meyer’s media guide bio is six pages long and features seven pictures. The Gettysburg Address was 272 words.

Pick out the line that doesn’t appear in Meyer’s lengthy bio section.

A. “And the rest of this story is future history.”

B. “Every player had a new resume to share, professional black binder and they dressed the part in suits and ties.”

C. “Ohio is proud and Meyer, named the 2012 Ohio College Coach of the Year by his coaching peers in the state, has the proven deeds to keep the state beaming.”

D. “Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of Urban Meyer’s lives.”

Remarkably, this is considered a modest brag page for a top-notch college head coach. Nick Saban’s spread in Alabama’s media guide is as long as some team’s entire media guides, running eight full pages. FSU’s media guide features so many Jimbo Fisher pictures that the thing looks like one of those high school yearbooks where the editor only had one friend. Fisher’s bio section alone features a whopping 15 pictures of Jimbo in various poses.

7. UCLA — The Bruins have won an NCAA record 111 national championships, but none in football.

UCLA’s 111 national championships are the most in the NCAA, by far. Burins have won titles in men’s tennis, men’s track, men’s basketball, men’s water polo, men’s volleyball, men’s swimming, women’s softball, women’s track, women’s tennis, women’s volleyball, men’s soccer, men’s gymnastics, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s water polo and men’s baseball, but have never won an undisputed national championship in football. The 1954 Bruins were voted No. 1 in the final UPI poll, but finished behind an undefeated Ohio State team in the AP poll.

8. Michigan State — Michigan State once had a coach named Biggie.

From 1947-55, the Spartans were coached by Clarence “Biggie” Munn. Biggie is the winningest coach in the program’s history (in terms of winning percentage). He led the Spartans to two undefeated records, one Rose Bowl win and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. And you’ll be pleased to know Biggie had no beef with the west coast: His Spartans went 13-1-1 against western teams during his tenure as coach.

9. South Carolina — The Gamecocks have never been ranked No. 1 in either major poll.

Last year’s No. 4 finish in the coaches poll was South Carolina’s best finish ever. Though the team hit No. 2 for a few weeks in the 1984, the Gamecocks have never reached the top spot. Here are a few teams who have (using the older AP poll): Army (27 weeks), Minnesota (18 weeks), Maryland (6 weeks), Northwestern (5 weeks), Cornell (4 weeks), Boston College (1 week). It’s not all bad for SC though. Their equestrian team is awesome.

10. Baylor — McLane Stadium is the smallest among any top 25 team.

Baylor’s home stadium seats 45,000. A future expansion could bump that up to 55,000, which would move Baylor into more Top 25 territory. Baylor’s stadium isn’t the tiniest among BCS teams. (Can we still call them BCS teams?) Wake Forest’s BB&T Field gets that honor, seating just 31,500 fans.

11. Stanford — Neither John Elway, Andrew Luck nor Jim Plunkett have Stanford’s record for career passing yards.

Who does? You guessed it: Steve Stenstrom, who threw for 10,911 yards during his Cardinal career. That’s more than Luck (9,430), Elway (9,349) and Plunkett (7,809). Luck and Elway are 1-2 in touchdown passes, however.

12. Georgia — Sanford Stadium’s hedges were supposed to have roses.

The idea for the famed hedges at Georgia’s stadium were inspired by the plants at the Rose Bowl, but horticulturists said roses couldn’t grow in Athens, so another plant was used. It’s a good thing, because this would have hurt a lot more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOmu9r2tKlg

The hedges had to be removed in 1996 so Sanford Stadium could host a soccer game, which is sort of like knocking down Westminster Abbey to build an Arby’s.

13. LSU — The Tigers’ night game dominance isn’t a myth.

Since 1960, LSU is 231-61-4 (.787) in home games at night and 29-26-3 (.526) in day games. Les Miles’ teams are 40-2 on Saturday night. Despite that dominance, the Tigers have lost three of the five night games with the highest attendance in school history, proving that even the cover of night isn’t enough to beat Nick Saban.

14. Wisconsin — Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium isn’t named for a guy named Camp, it’s named for an actual camp.

Camp Randall Stadium isn’t named for some 1920s coach/donor/president/professor/student named Camp Randall like you probably assumed (or, more realistically, like you’d never considered). Camp Randall was an actual army camp that was used to train more than 70,000 Union soldiers during the Civil War and housed soldiers during both World Wars. When the property was turned over to the university and used to stage athletic events, veterans petitioned that the stadium retain the name Camp Randall, correctly stating that Bunker Hill would never be renamed Bunker Field.

15. USC — A USC football player created the “charge” fanfare often played at sporting events.

As described on the USC Trojans official website, 1940s student Tommy Walker would play in the band during games, then come down on the field to kick extra points. At some point, he created the famous fanfare that’s often heard at stadiums across the country. Walker would go on to produce Super Bowl halftime shows and Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

16. Clemson — The Tigers are undefeated in the past two seasons … against every team besides Florida State and South Carolina.

ACC coaches at @ESPN with 31 Days to CFB: Are FSU and S. Carolina keeping Dabo Swinney’s @ClemsonTigers from a title? pic.twitter.com/VOkaVRUK9D — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 29, 2014

Tigers pro tip: Don’t schedule FSU and South Carolina.

17. Notre Dame — The Irish are the all-time leaders in college football winning percentage by a single victory.

Notre Dame and Michigan have been flip-flopping for the all-time lead in college football winning percentage, with the Fighting Irish taking a narrow .05669% lead after winning its 2013 bowl game on the same day Michigan lost theirs.

18. Arizona St. — The Sun Devils are the only team in the top 25 to play true home games in two different time zones.

Arizona is the lone state in the union not to practice Daylight Saving. That means ASU plays its first few home games in the Pacific Time Zone. Then, when Daylight Saving ends on Nov. 2 and the rest of the country “falls back,” Arizona’s clocks stay the same and the state switches over to Mountain Time. Why doesn’t Arizona observe Daylight Saving? The summer heat, mainly.

19. Mississippi — Ole Miss has the highest bowl game winning percentage of any team in the top 25.*

The Rebels are a lifetime 23-12 in bowls, good for a winning percentage of 65.7. That’s slightly better than USC’s 65.3% mark. The teams rank second and third on the all-time list of best bowl winning percentage? Who’s No. 1? You guessed it: Steve Stenstrom. No, we’re kidding. It’s Utah.

* Among teams that had played 10 or more bowl games.

20. Texas A&M — The Seattle Seahawks pay Texas A&M $5,000 per year to use the “12th Man” phrase.

The Aggies created the 12th man in 1922 when a former player was plucked from the stands in case he was needed on the field. Now, all Texas A&M fans, from the little tykes to hungover frat boy to grandma, stand by at the ready, just in case. The Seahawks “borrowed” the phrase decades later, which eventually led to an agreement that the NFL team would pay a $100,000 flat fee and $5,000 per season to use the trademark. There are many limitations on what Seattle can do with it (the team can’t sell 12th man merchandise, for example), but seeing as how the Seahawks are owned by Paul Allen, the world’s 55th richest person who’s worth more than $16 billion, me thinks the Aggies are getting the short end of this stick.

21. Kansas St. — Kansas State football without Bill Snyder is like Destiny’s Child without Beyonce.

Kansas State’s record without Bill Snyder as coach: 316-530-40 (.397)

Kansas State’s record with Bill Snyder as coach: 178-90-1 (.664)

22. Nebraska — The Cornhuskers hold the record for most consecutive appearances in the final Amway Coaches Poll.

From 1969 to 2001, Nebraska was ranked in the final coaches poll of the season. That run of 33 years is the longest streak in history, well ahead of Florida State’s 22-year run from 1984-2005. The best current streak? Oregon, with seven straight seasons in the final poll.

23. UNC — Carolina is the only ranked team from the ACC Coastal Division. Carolina was picked to finish fourth in the ACC Coastal Division.

North Carolina was picked to finish fourth in the Coastal, behind Miami (34th in the coaches poll, if you count “others receiving votes”), Duke (35th) and Virginia Tech (41). None of those teams are ranked. The only other ACC teams that made the top 25 — No. 1 FSU and No. 16 Clemson — are in the Atlantic Division.

24. Texas — The Hook ‘Em Horns sign was created while fooling around with lit shadows on a wall.

Head cheerleader Harley Clark created the famed Texas signal in 1955 after his colleague Henry Pitts was making shadow puppets on a lit wall. The signal quickly caught on and became a Texas staple. It was reported in the spring that new Longhorns coach Charlie Strong banned players from making the sign, but that quote was later “clarified” by the SID.

25. Washington — The Huskies went winless six years ago.

Props to Steve Sarkisian for turning around the disaster left by Tyrone Willingham, who went 0-12 in his last season with the Huskies. Sarkisian parlayed his Washington resurrection into a job at USC and Boise State coach Chris Petersen is now tasked with keeping the ball rolling. No other team in the top 25 has had a winless season this century, though South Carolina did go 0-11 in Lou Holtz’s first season in 1999. The only other Top 25 school to go winless in the recent past was Kansas State in 1987 and 1988. That was pre-Bill Snyder, of course.