It's not...if they were ranking teams beyond 25 they'd vote for them. Other votes are outliers they don't continue to rank them
Penn State and Northwestern
Have you ever taken a math class??
Starting with the preseason poll, the Associated Press Poll will rank the Top 25 teams each week during the season and after the bowl games and the College Football Playoff.
The 61 sportswriters and broadcasters from throughout the country vote individually. Teams are given points on a scale: No. 1 gets you 25, No. 2 gets you 24, etc. These ballots, which are made public each week, are then combined for one AP Top 25 poll.
So, the EXACT SAME PROCESS to assign 'Points' for the top 25 teams is used to compile the remaining list of teams who accrued points but did not qualify for the Top 25.
You say you earned a degree from both Penn State and Northwestern......
I can't speak about Northwestern but wrt Penn State, despite spending a considerable time on this board, I've never seen you reference any event, game, restaurant, club, fraternity, residence hall, apartment complex, concerts, late night food options, players or ex players, coaches, away games, bowl games, intramural teams and competitions. Nor reference to an era or time frame that I've seen.....
Nothing.
Yes, I've taken a math class. Fortunately for you the 'math' required to tabulate the points that each team earned in the tabulation of the poll was taught to me in grade school.
If the other votes that you are referring to as outliers (meaning that they did not accrue enough points for the Top 25) then why publish anything but the Top 25?
I feel like I've just partaken in a new episode of Idiocracy.
And I'm not going to do that again!