Through six weeks of the college football season, many of the traditional power programs hold top spots in The Associated Press Top 25.
The top 10 — Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Washington, Oregon, Texas and USC — have 47 national championships among them.
But an interesting storyline has developed outside the top 10 with six schools more known for college basketball success than college football ranked in the Top 25.
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North Carolina, Louisville, Duke, UCLA, Kansas and Kentucky are all ranked in the top 25 for the first time in the 87-year history of the AP college football poll with a combined record of 29-4, according to the AP.
Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, UCLA and Louisville have the most appearances in the AP men’s college basketball poll.
College basketball national championships: 6
North Carolina basketball is arguably the most well-known college basketball brand around — Michael Jordan helped win the Tar Heels a national championship in 1982 — but it’s the football program that has the attention in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels are 5-0 to start the year after beating Syracuse in Week 6, their best start since 1997.
North Carolina faces No. 25 Miami in Week 7 and still has No. 17 Duke and Clemson on its schedule.
College basketball national championships: 2
The Louisville basketball team has made the Final Four 10 times in its history, but it was the football team that took center stage Saturday night at Cardinal Stadium.
Louisville moved to 6-0, its best start in 10 years, after defeating a top 10 Notre Dame team in front of 59,081 Cardinals fans.
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“We appreciate all the fans, all the support they’ve been giving us,” running back Jawhar Jordan said. “It was electric once they stormed the field and the adrenaline, and we’re just thankful for the day.”
Louisville’s victory snapped Notre Dame’s 30-game ACC winning streak and is its second win over a top 10 opponent in less than a year.
We should also note here that the Louisville basketball program was forced to vacate its 2013 national title.
College basketball national championships: 5
ESPN’s “College Gameday” made its 12th appearance at Cameron Indoor Arena last season, the most visits to any college basketball venue by the program, according to the Duke website.
In Week 5, “College Gameday” made its first-ever trip to Durham for a football matchup between Duke and Notre Dame.
And while the Blue Devils fell to the Irish in a thriller, the Duke program is on the rise under head coach Mike Elko.
The Blue Devils are 13-5 with Elko at the helm.
College basketball national championships: 11
The most accomplished college basketball program of all time with household names like John Wooden, Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor), is making noise on the gridiron.
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With Chip Kelly in his sixth year as head coach, the Bruins upset No. 13 Washington State in Week 6 to move back into the top 25.
Under Kelly, the Bruins are 61-31 as they prepare for the move to the Big Ten in 2024.
College basketball national championships: 4
The Jayhawks are the most recent team on this list to win a college basketball national championship, but the football program, once a doormat, is on the rise.
Kansas got off to a 4-0 start in back-to-back years before losing to Texas in Week 5. The Jayhawks rebounded in Week 6 with a 51-21 win over UCF.
Head coach Lance Liepold was pleased with his team’s resilience following a 40-14 loss to Texas.
“This is a really good bounce back for us,” Leipold said. “I didn’t know how we would handle it after last week. (UCF has) a high-speed offense. You could see glimpses of how dangerous they are.”
College basketball national championships: 8
The Wildcats are known for John Calipari and sending stars to the NBA, but head football coach Mark Stoops is starting his own tradition.
Kentucky has finished six of the last seven seasons over .500 with Stoops calling the shots, and the Wildcats are 5-1 in 2023.
Kentucky entered Saturday’s game against No. 1 Georgia 5-0 for the third time under Stoops.
The Wildcats’ hot start came to a screeching halt against the Bulldogs, however. They lost 51-13.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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