| Media Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Ohio State | B10 | 15-2 (8-0) | 1604 | 2-2 | 38 | W, 49-27 #18 Maryland | - | 6 |
| 2. | Florida State | ACC | 13-2 (8-0) | 1532 | 3-1 | 17 | L, 27-34 #18 Maryland | OPEN | 3 |
| 3. | USC | Pac-12 | 15-1 (8-0) | 1477 | 2-0 | 74 | L, 26-47 #18 Maryland | OPEN | 2 |
| 4. | Florida | SEC | 14-1 (8-0) | 1412 | 4-0 | 52 | L, 28-64 #7 Texas Christian | OPEN | 1 |
| 5. | West Virginia | BigE | 12-2 (8-0) | 1342 | 3-0 | 22 | L, 13-16 #12 Miami (OH) | OPEN | 4 |
| 6. | Arizona | Pac-12 | 10-3 (6-2) | 1282 | 1-1 | 50 | L, 14-30 at #7 Texas Christian | OPEN | 9 |
| 7. | Texas Christian | B12 | 13-3 (6-2) | 1206 | 3-0 | 43 | L, 16-33 at #1 Ohio State | OPEN | 7 |
| 8. | UCLA | Pac-12 | 11-3 (6-2) | 1142 | 0-2 | 37 | L, 24-41 at #3 USC | OPEN | 5 |
| 9. | Iowa State | B12 | 10-3 (5-3) | 1084 | 2-2 | 10 | W, 30-28 Oregon State | OPEN | 14 |
| 10. | Alabama | SEC | 11-3 (6-2) | 1009 | 0-2 | 56 | W, 27-13 at #21 Northwestern | OPEN | 17 |
| 11. | Southern Methodist | C-USA | 11-3 (8-0) | 941 | 0-1 | 89 | W, 34-13 at Central Michigan | OPEN | 18 |
| 12. | Miami (OH) | MAC | 13-2 (8-0) | 892 | 0-0 | 113 | L, 10-65 at #1 Ohio State | OPEN | 11 |
| 13. | Georgia Tech | ACC | 11-2 (6-2) | 843 | 0-2 | 70 | W, 54-10 Pittsburgh | OPEN | 15 |
| 14. | South Carolina | SEC | 10-3 (6-2) | 772 | 1-2 | 88 | L, 10-46 at #1 Ohio State | OPEN | 13 |
| 15. | Army | BigE | 11-3 (6-2) | 722 | 0-1 | 30 | L, 44-47 #18 Maryland | OPEN | 8 |
| 16. | Texas | B12 | 11-3 (7-1) | 678 | 2-0 | 62 | L, 16-41 at #8 UCLA | OPEN | 10 |
| 17. | Mississippi State | SEC | 9-4 (5-3) | 630 | 1-2 | 57 | L, 20-23 #20 Virginia | OPEN | 16 |
| 18. | Maryland | ACC | 13-3 (7-1) | 564 | 2-2 | 40 | L, 27-49 at #1 Ohio State | - | 12 |
| 19. | Michigan | B10 | 9-4 (5-3) | 502 | 1-2 | 69 | W, 32-10 LSU | OPEN | 19 |
| 20. | Virginia | ACC | 11-3 (7-1) | 413 | 1-1 | 64 | W, 23-20 at #17 Mississippi State | OPEN | 26 |
| 21. | Northwestern | B10 | 9-5 (7-1) | 369 | 1-2 | 25 | L, 13-27 #10 Alabama | OPEN | 21 |
| 22. | Brigham Young | B12 | 9-4 (5-3) | 310 | 1-2 | 36 | W, 27-20 at #25 Penn State | OPEN | 29 |
| 23. | Iowa | B10 | 7-6 (3-5) | 258 | 1-4 | 15 | W, 34-7 at Syracuse | OPEN | 22 |
| 24. | East Carolina | SEC | 8-5 (5-3) | 206 | 2-1 | 49 | W, 27-12 Baylor | OPEN | 27 |
| 25. | Penn State | B10 | 7-6 (5-3) | 138 | 1-2 | 31 | L, 20-27 #22 Brigham Young | OPEN | 24 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Western Michigan 112, Kansas State 88, LSU 57, Illinois 54, Arkansas 50, Colorado 50, Connecticut 46, Oregon 42, Navy 39, Central Michigan 34, Louisville 32, Wyoming 29, Indiana 29, Air Force 29, Troy 26, Cincinnati 24, Memphis 21, Fresno State 20, Washington 18, Baylor 15, Oklahoma State 13, Rutgers 13, Stanford 8, Kentucky 3, N C State 2, Utah 2 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Western Michigan (25), LSU (20), Central Michigan (23) |
| Coaches Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Ohio State | B10 | 15-2 (8-0) | 1505 | 1-2 | 38 | W, 49-27 #13 Maryland | - | 5 |
| 2. | Florida | SEC | 14-1 (8-0) | 1446 | 5-0 | 52 | L, 28-64 #10 Texas Christian | OPEN | 1 |
| 3. | USC | Pac-12 | 15-1 (8-0) | 1394 | 2-0 | 74 | L, 26-47 #13 Maryland | OPEN | 2 |
| 4. | Florida State | ACC | 13-2 (8-0) | 1325 | 3-1 | 17 | L, 27-34 #13 Maryland | OPEN | 3 |
| 5. | Arizona | Pac-12 | 10-3 (6-2) | 1278 | 1-1 | 50 | L, 14-30 at #10 Texas Christian | OPEN | 9 |
| 6. | West Virginia | BigE | 12-2 (8-0) | 1220 | 3-0 | 22 | L, 13-16 #23 Miami (OH) | OPEN | 4 |
| 7. | UCLA | Pac-12 | 11-3 (6-2) | 1138 | 0-2 | 37 | L, 24-41 at #3 USC | OPEN | 7 |
| 8. | Army | BigE | 11-3 (6-2) | 1081 | 0-1 | 30 | L, 44-47 #13 Maryland | OPEN | 6 |
| 9. | Southern Methodist | C-USA | 11-3 (8-0) | 1010 | 0-1 | 89 | W, 34-13 at Central Michigan | OPEN | 16 |
| 10. | Texas Christian | B12 | 13-3 (6-2) | 936 | 3-1 | 43 | L, 16-33 at #1 Ohio State | OPEN | 8 |
| 11. | Texas | B12 | 11-3 (7-1) | 865 | 2-0 | 62 | L, 16-41 at #7 UCLA | OPEN | 10 |
| 12. | Alabama | SEC | 11-3 (6-2) | 801 | 0-2 | 56 | W, 27-13 at #21 Northwestern | OPEN | 17 |
| 13. | Maryland | ACC | 13-3 (7-1) | 743 | 2-2 | 40 | L, 27-49 at #1 Ohio State | - | 12 |
| 14. | Iowa State | B12 | 10-3 (5-3) | 695 | 3-2 | 10 | W, 30-28 Oregon State | OPEN | 14 |
| 15. | Virginia | ACC | 11-3 (7-1) | 651 | 1-1 | 64 | W, 23-20 at #17 Mississippi State | OPEN | 19 |
| 16. | Georgia Tech | ACC | 11-2 (6-2) | 605 | 0-2 | 70 | W, 54-10 Pittsburgh | OPEN | 18 |
| 17. | Mississippi State | SEC | 9-4 (5-3) | 557 | 1-2 | 57 | L, 20-23 #15 Virginia | OPEN | 11 |
| 18. | Michigan | B10 | 9-4 (5-3) | 518 | 1-2 | 69 | W, 32-10 LSU | OPEN | 21 |
| 19. | South Carolina | SEC | 10-3 (6-2) | 450 | 1-2 | 88 | L, 10-46 at #1 Ohio State | OPEN | 15 |
| 20. | East Carolina | SEC | 8-5 (5-3) | 384 | 2-1 | 49 | W, 27-12 Baylor | OPEN | 24 |
| 21. | Northwestern | B10 | 9-5 (7-1) | 308 | 1-2 | 25 | L, 13-27 #12 Alabama | OPEN | 13 |
| 22. | Iowa | B10 | 7-6 (3-5) | 258 | 1-3 | 15 | W, 34-7 at Syracuse | OPEN | 27 |
| 23. | Miami (OH) | MAC | 13-2 (8-0) | 204 | 0-0 | 113 | L, 10-65 at #1 Ohio State | OPEN | 22 |
| 24. | Brigham Young | B12 | 9-4 (5-3) | 162 | 2-2 | 36 | W, 27-20 at Penn State | OPEN | 34 |
| 25. | Kansas State | B12 | 8-5 (4-4) | 113 | 1-4 | 13 | W, 26-9 at Utah | OPEN | 31 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Colorado 88, Illinois 58, Western Michigan 53, Arkansas 50, Syracuse 50, Connecticut 47, Navy 43, Oregon 40, Wisconsin 40, LSU 40, Air Force 40, Central Michigan 40, Penn State 38, Indiana 38, Cincinnati 34, Rutgers 30, Memphis 29, Louisville 24, Washington 20, Baylor 15, Troy 14, Utah 11, N C State 8, California 6, Oklahoma State 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Western Michigan (20), Wisconsin (23), LSU (25) |
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