While there’s an itch to reflect on Alabama’s success under Nick Saban, it’s remarkable to think that this dynasty has only scratched the surface of what it could still accomplish.

Four national championships over the last seven seasons and a No. 1 ranking in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll that was released on Sunday for the 2016 season. While those two things do a better job than anything else of encapsulating the Tide’s reign and the expectation that the reign will continue, there’s still more context to show Alabama’s consistency over this period.

For starters, Alabama has now been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll at some point in each of the last nine seasons dating back to 2008, Saban’s second season in Tuscaloosa.

Overall, the Tide has been atop the rankings a total of 44 times over that stretch, while no other school has been there more than 15 times. Here’s a look at the five schools that have held the top spot at least 10 times since ’08.

RANK, SCHOOL CONFERENCE APPEARANCES AT No. 1 PCT. OF TOTAL POLLS
1. Alabama SEC 44 33.3%
2. Florida SEC 15 11.4%
T3. Florida State ACC 12 9.1%
T3. Ohio State Big Ten 12 9.1%
5. LSU SEC 11 8.3%

As you can see, Alabama has been ranked No. 1 in exactly one-third of the 132 polls over this span.

It’s worth noting that this marks the fifth time in Tide history that the school has been the preseason No. 1, but the school only won a national championship once in the previous four times. That came in 1978 under Bear Bryant, who led an 11-1 Alabama squad to a 14-7 win over Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.

Interestingly enough, Alabama suffered an early-season loss to USC — their Week 1 opponent in a little less than two weeks — but managed to handle a schedule that looked equally as daunting as the one Saban faces this season. In fact, Bryant, who also served as athletics director, said he made a mistake by scheduling out-of-conference opponents that were too difficult.

Outside of USC, Alabama would have to navigate Nebraska, Missouri and defending Rose Bowl champion Washington on top of its SEC slate. That wouldn’t stop Alabama linebacker Barry Krauss from stonewalling Penn State tailback Mike Guman in one of the most iconic goal-line stands in college football history and giving Bryant the fifth of his six national titles with the school.

While that quarter-century under the Bear was a lengthy golden age riddled with spots of success, Saban’s near-decade has been coated in crimson with almost no room for anyone else to break through. Six national championships in 25 seasons is great, but four in seven seasons is nearly unheard of. The last school to accomplish that was Minnesota from 1934-41, a period that began before the AP Poll even existed.

The Tide’s consistency can be seen in many ways, but the AP Poll reveals a couple startling ones. For starters, Alabama’s 2011 squad began what is now an all-time record of consecutive weeks appearing in the AP top 10. The Tide ran that up to 69, seven better than USC’s 62 from 2002-07 during Pete Carroll’s tenure. Bama’s string was cut off last season after the loss to Ole Miss.

Plus, Alabama has now been ranked in the AP Poll for 132 consecutive weeks. The school’s next-best streak came in the mid-1990s, a 71-week span under former coach Gene Stallings.

Here’s a look at the longest active streaks in the AP Poll.

RANK, TEAM CONFERENCE CONSECUTIVE WEEKS DATES BACK TO
1. Alabama SEC 132 2008
2. Florida State ACC 70 2011
3. Ohio State Big Ten 67 2012
4. Baylor Big 12 50 2013
5. Michigan State Big Ten 42 2013

There’s only one streak in SEC history that tops Alabama’s, and that’s Florida’s 209-poll streak that began in 1989 and ended in 2001.

When it comes to the preseason poll, Alabama has been ranked in the top 3 in each one over the last seven seasons dating back to 2010, ranking either No. 1 or No. 2 in six of those seven seasons.

Keep in mind that the AP didn’t release its preseason poll until 1950. Alabama is one of only six FBS programs to appear in at least 50 of them along with Ohio State (63), Oklahoma (58), USC (56), Notre Dame (54) and Texas (50). The Tide joined the half-century club today, meaning it’s been ranked in 50 of the 67 preseason polls ever released, roughly 75 percent of them.

It’s also one of only three schools to be ranked among the preseason top 5 at least 25 times, also joining that club today with the Sooners (34) and Buckeyes (25).

But as I pointed out earlier with that memorable win over Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions, all that matters (especially to Roll Tiders) is who’s left standing at the end of the season, right? Well, outside of winning the ultimate prize four times under Saban, Alabama is the only school to finish in the top 10 of the final AP Poll in each season since 2008. Ohio State and Oregon are the next-best programs in this category, landing there in all but two seasons.

We all know that Alabama is adding weight to its illustrious history. The AP Poll just gives us a few ways to measure it.