AP TOP 25 HEAT CHECK: Balancing body of work and improvement
Over the course of the season, some teams get better and others get worse, but voters in The Associated Press college football poll also rank teams on their full body of work.
The result is a best resume or best team debate that can get complicated — as the College Football Playoff selection committee can attest. The fact is some mix of the two criteria gets blended into the AP Top 25 and the playoff rankings.