| Media Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | USC | Pac-12 | 16-1 (8-0) | 1597 | 3-1 | 11 | W, 33-27 #6 Texas Christian | - | 2 |
| 2. | Stanford | Pac-12 | 11-2 (7-1) | 1526 | 0-1 | 73 | L, 10-29 #14 Arkansas | OPEN | 5 |
| 3. | Penn State | B10 | 14-1 (8-0) | 1458 | 4-0 | 69 | L, 13-37 #5 Maryland | OPEN | 1 |
| 4. | Indiana | B10 | 12-2 (7-1) | 1386 | 3-1 | 51 | L, 13-23 at #1 USC | OPEN | 3 |
| 5. | Maryland | ACC | 13-3 (8-0) | 1326 | 2-2 | 34 | L, 20-27 at #6 Texas Christian | OPEN | 9 |
| 6. | Texas Christian | BigE | 15-2 (8-0) | 1237 | 1-0 | 63 | L, 27-33 at #1 USC | - | 4 |
| 7. | Western Michigan | MAC | 13-1 (8-0) | 1152 | 0-0 | 118 | L, 6-34 at #4 Indiana | OPEN | 6 |
| 8. | Florida | SEC | 10-3 (6-2) | 1089 | 3-0 | 20 | L, 23-26 #16 California | OPEN | 7 |
| 9. | Nebraska | B10 | 9-3 (5-3) | 1014 | 1-2 | 77 | W, 31-17 Wake Forest | OPEN | 11 |
| 10. | Iowa State | B12 | 11-2 (6-2) | 954 | 1-2 | 48 | W, 30-21 #22 Colorado | OPEN | 14 |
| 11. | Ohio State | B10 | 10-3 (5-3) | 876 | 2-2 | 22 | W, 44-13 Alabama | OPEN | 17 |
| 12. | Texas | B12 | 11-3 (8-0) | 835 | 2-1 | 30 | W, 32-3 at Tennessee | OPEN | 15 |
| 13. | LSU | SEC | 9-3 (6-2) | 769 | 1-2 | 29 | L, 23-51 at #5 Maryland | OPEN | 8 |
| 14. | Arkansas | SEC | 10-4 (5-3) | 722 | 3-2 | 23 | L, 15-40 at #6 Texas Christian | OPEN | 13 |
| 15. | Missouri | B12 | 11-3 (6-2) | 648 | 1-2 | 35 | L, 23-27 at #7 Western Michigan | OPEN | 12 |
| 16. | California | Pac-12 | 10-4 (7-1) | 601 | 1-1 | 3 | L, 22-39 at #1 USC | OPEN | 10 |
| 17. | Army | BigE | 8-5 (5-3) | 557 | 0-1 | 50 | L, 17-37 at #4 Indiana | OPEN | 23 |
| 18. | Mississippi State | SEC | 10-4 (6-2) | 517 | 2-1 | 46 | W, 47-9 at Michigan | OPEN | 18 |
| 19. | Wisconsin | B10 | 9-4 (5-3) | 457 | 2-3 | 2 | W, 25-20 Baylor | OPEN | 26 |
| 20. | Air Force | MWC | 9-4 (8-0) | 375 | 0-1 | 84 | L, 7-48 Washington State | OPEN | 19 |
| 21. | Florida State | ACC | 9-4 (6-2) | 317 | 0-2 | 56 | L, 10-30 Louisville | OPEN | 16 |
| 22. | Colorado | Pac-12 | 9-4 (6-2) | 265 | 0-2 | 62 | L, 21-30 at #10 Iowa State | OPEN | 21 |
| 23. | Kansas | B12 | 7-5 (5-3) | 198 | 1-1 | 43 | L, 0-27 at UCLA | OPEN | 28 |
| 24. | East Carolina | C-USA | 11-3 (7-1) | 125 | 0-1 | 91 | L, 9-40 at #6 Texas Christian | OPEN | 20 |
| 25. | South Carolina | SEC | 7-5 (4-4) | 93 | 0-2 | 37 | W, 3-0 Georgia Tech | OPEN | 34 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Michigan 68, Alabama 41, Louisville 36, Kentucky 36, Washington State 34, UCLA 31, Iowa 31, Baylor 26, Georgia Tech 26, Vanderbilt 24, Connecticut 24, Navy 23, Kansas State 20, Boise State 20, Duke 16, Tennessee 16, Illinois 13, Virginia 8, Pittsburgh 8, Southern Methodist 3, Mississippi 2 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Michigan (25), Baylor (24), Georgia Tech (22) |
| Coaches Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | USC | Pac-12 | 16-1 (8-0) | 1496 | 3-1 | 11 | W, 33-27 #6 Texas Christian | - | 2 |
| 2. | Stanford | Pac-12 | 11-2 (7-1) | 1441 | 1-1 | 73 | L, 10-29 #17 Arkansas | OPEN | 5 |
| 3. | Penn State | B10 | 14-1 (8-0) | 1385 | 4-0 | 69 | L, 13-37 #5 Maryland | OPEN | 1 |
| 4. | Indiana | B10 | 12-2 (7-1) | 1321 | 3-1 | 51 | L, 13-23 at #1 USC | OPEN | 3 |
| 5. | Maryland | ACC | 13-3 (8-0) | 1273 | 2-2 | 34 | L, 20-27 at #6 Texas Christian | OPEN | 9 |
| 6. | Texas Christian | BigE | 15-2 (8-0) | 1193 | 0-0 | 63 | L, 27-33 at #1 USC | - | 4 |
| 7. | Western Michigan | MAC | 13-1 (8-0) | 1121 | 0-0 | 118 | L, 6-34 at #4 Indiana | OPEN | 6 |
| 8. | Florida | SEC | 10-3 (6-2) | 1055 | 4-0 | 20 | L, 23-26 #16 California | OPEN | 7 |
| 9. | Iowa State | B12 | 11-2 (6-2) | 985 | 0-2 | 48 | W, 30-21 #22 Colorado | OPEN | 13 |
| 10. | Mississippi State | SEC | 10-4 (6-2) | 918 | 3-1 | 46 | W, 47-9 at Michigan | OPEN | 15 |
| 11. | Ohio State | B10 | 10-3 (5-3) | 839 | 2-2 | 22 | W, 44-13 #19 Alabama | OPEN | 18 |
| 12. | Texas | B12 | 11-3 (8-0) | 798 | 3-1 | 30 | W, 32-3 at Tennessee | OPEN | 16 |
| 13. | Missouri | B12 | 11-3 (6-2) | 758 | 2-1 | 35 | L, 23-27 at #7 Western Michigan | OPEN | 8 |
| 14. | Nebraska | B10 | 9-3 (5-3) | 695 | 1-2 | 77 | W, 31-17 Wake Forest | OPEN | 17 |
| 15. | LSU | SEC | 9-3 (6-2) | 647 | 2-2 | 29 | L, 23-51 at #5 Maryland | OPEN | 10 |
| 16. | California | Pac-12 | 10-4 (7-1) | 593 | 2-2 | 3 | L, 22-39 at #1 USC | OPEN | 11 |
| 17. | Arkansas | SEC | 10-4 (5-3) | 540 | 3-3 | 23 | L, 15-40 at #6 Texas Christian | OPEN | 12 |
| 18. | Florida State | ACC | 9-4 (6-2) | 479 | 0-2 | 56 | L, 10-30 Louisville | OPEN | 14 |
| 19. | Alabama | SEC | 7-5 (4-4) | 441 | 3-3 | 14 | L, 13-44 at #11 Ohio State | OPEN | 26 |
| 20. | Wisconsin | B10 | 9-4 (5-3) | 387 | 1-4 | 2 | W, 25-20 #21 Baylor | OPEN | 27 |
| 21. | Baylor | B12 | 8-4 (6-2) | 308 | 1-2 | 52 | L, 20-25 at #20 Wisconsin | OPEN | 20 |
| 22. | Colorado | Pac-12 | 9-4 (6-2) | 258 | 1-2 | 62 | L, 21-30 at #9 Iowa State | OPEN | 21 |
| 23. | Air Force | MWC | 9-4 (8-0) | 204 | 0-2 | 84 | L, 7-48 #24 Washington State | OPEN | 19 |
| 24. | Washington State | Pac-12 | 8-5 (4-4) | 160 | 2-4 | 5 | W, 48-7 at #23 Air Force | OPEN | 32 |
| 25. | South Carolina | SEC | 7-5 (4-4) | 114 | 0-3 | 37 | W, 3-0 Georgia Tech | OPEN | 35 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Michigan 92, Army 61, East Carolina 32, Vanderbilt 29, Kentucky 29, Iowa 24, UCLA 24, Kansas 23, Georgia Tech 18, Tennessee 15, Connecticut 11, Kansas State 6, Navy 2 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Michigan (25), Kansas (22), Georgia Tech (23), Tennessee (24) |
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