| Media Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | LSU | SEC | 10-1 (6-1) | 1602 | 5-1 | 28 | W, 13-9 #17 Cincinnati | Auburn | 2 |
| 2. | California | Pac12 | 9-1 (6-1) | 1537 | 3-1 | 50 | W, 41-13 UCLA | at Washington | 1 |
| 3. | Florida | SEC | 9-1 (6-1) | 1472 | 3-1 | 55 | W, 34-26 #20 Arkansas | South Carolina | 7 |
| 4. | Illinois | B10 | 8-1 (6-1) | 1401 | 0-1 | 18 | OPEN | Ohio State | 9 |
| 5. | Texas | B12 | 8-1 (6-1) | 1329 | 2-1 | 38 | W, 41-6 at Colorado | at Missouri | 3 |
| 6. | Rutgers | BigE | 9-0 (7-0) | 1269 | 0-0 | 95 | W, 56-16 Arkansas State | at East Carolina | 6 |
| 7. | Stanford | Pac12 | 8-1 (6-1) | 1185 | 1-1 | 51 | W, 28-14 San Jose State | #11 Utah | 4 |
| 8. | Georgia | SEC | 8-1 (6-1) | 1105 | 2-1 | 49 | OPEN | at Kentucky | 5 |
| 9. | Texas Tech | B12 | 8-2 (5-2) | 1040 | 2-1 | 47 | W, 37-13 at Oklahoma State | Texas A&M | 8 |
| 10. | Ball State | C-USA | 10-0 (7-0) | 951 | 0-0 | 72 | OPEN | at Eastern Michigan | 11 |
| 11. | Utah | Pac12 | 9-1 (6-1) | 887 | 0-1 | 79 | W, 43-7 Arizona State | at #7 Stanford | 12 |
| 12. | Rice | B12 | 9-2 (5-2) | 835 | 0-2 | 70 | W, 31-3 at Oklahoma | #18 Kansas State | 10 |
| 13. | Texas Christian | BigE | 9-1 (6-1) | 770 | 1-0 | 103 | OPEN | at South Florida | 14 |
| 14. | Wake Forest | ACC | 9-2 (5-2) | 722 | 0-0 | 104 | W, 29-3 Louisville | Maryland | 13 |
| 15. | Southern Methodist | Sun | 11-0 (7-0) | 670 | 0-0 | 114 | W, 30-26 at Southern Miss | at Memphis | 22 |
| 16. | Mississippi | SEC | 8-3 (4-3) | 606 | 2-3 | 29 | W, 33-23 #23 Alabama | at Vanderbilt | 20 |
| 17. | Cincinnati | BigE | 8-3 (6-1) | 554 | 0-2 | 62 | L, 9-13 at #1 LSU | Arkansas State | 16 |
| 18. | Kansas State | B12 | 7-2 (5-2) | 483 | 1-0 | 75 | OPEN | at #12 Rice | 17 |
| 19. | USC | Pac12 | 6-3 (6-1) | 395 | 1-1 | 53 | W, 39-9 at Washington | Oregon | 21 |
| 20. | Arkansas | SEC | 6-4 (4-3) | 340 | 2-4 | 27 | L, 26-34 at #3 Florida | Tennessee | 19 |
| 21. | Idaho | MWC | 9-0 (7-0) | 265 | 0-0 | 118 | OPEN | at Utah State | 30 |
| 22. | Fresno State | Pac12 | 8-2 (5-2) | 197 | 1-1 | 65 | OPEN | at San Jose State | 24 |
| 23. | Alabama | SEC | 5-4 (3-4) | 136 | 1-3 | 9 | L, 23-33 at #16 Mississippi | #25 Mississippi State | 15 |
| 24. | Notre Dame | B10 | 7-3 (5-2) | 112 | 1-1 | 48 | L, 13-17 at Penn State | Wisconsin | 18 |
| 25. | Mississippi State | SEC | 7-4 (3-4) | 86 | 1-3 | 20 | W, 53-6 UNLV | at #23 Alabama | 23 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Penn State 62, Miami (OH) 58, Ohio State 54, Baylor 49, South Florida 44, Maryland 42, Kent State 39, Virginia Tech 37, Auburn 32, West Virginia 28, Connecticut 24, Georgia Tech 23, Oklahoma State 21, Vanderbilt 16, Texas A&M 13, North Texas 8, Virginia 8, Montana 8, Marshall 8, Oklahoma 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Penn State (25) |
| Coaches Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | LSU | SEC | 10-1 (6-1) | 1513 | 4-1 | 28 | W, 13-9 #20 Cincinnati | Auburn | 1 |
| 2. | Florida | SEC | 9-1 (6-1) | 1452 | 2-1 | 55 | W, 34-26 Arkansas | South Carolina | 3 |
| 3. | Georgia | SEC | 8-1 (6-1) | 1401 | 2-1 | 49 | OPEN | at Kentucky | 2 |
| 4. | Stanford | Pac12 | 8-1 (6-1) | 1334 | 1-1 | 51 | W, 28-14 San Jose State | #8 Utah | 4 |
| 5. | Texas | B12 | 8-1 (6-1) | 1272 | 3-1 | 38 | W, 41-6 at Colorado | at Missouri | 5 |
| 6. | Rutgers | BigE | 9-0 (7-0) | 1203 | 0-0 | 95 | W, 56-16 Arkansas State | at East Carolina | 6 |
| 7. | California | Pac12 | 9-1 (6-1) | 1150 | 2-1 | 50 | W, 41-13 UCLA | at Washington | 7 |
| 8. | Utah | Pac12 | 9-1 (6-1) | 1095 | 0-1 | 79 | W, 43-7 Arizona State | at #4 Stanford | 8 |
| 9. | Illinois | B10 | 8-1 (6-1) | 1023 | 0-1 | 18 | OPEN | Ohio State | 9 |
| 10. | Ball State | C-USA | 10-0 (7-0) | 942 | 0-0 | 72 | OPEN | at Eastern Michigan | 12 |
| 11. | Texas Christian | BigE | 9-1 (6-1) | 871 | 1-0 | 103 | OPEN | at South Florida | 13 |
| 12. | Texas Tech | B12 | 8-2 (5-2) | 814 | 3-1 | 47 | W, 37-13 at Oklahoma State | Texas A&M | 10 |
| 13. | Rice | B12 | 9-2 (5-2) | 753 | 0-2 | 70 | W, 31-3 at Oklahoma | #23 Kansas State | 11 |
| 14. | Wake Forest | ACC | 9-2 (5-2) | 711 | 0-0 | 104 | W, 29-3 Louisville | #19 Maryland | 15 |
| 15. | Southern Methodist | Sun | 11-0 (7-0) | 648 | 0-0 | 114 | W, 30-26 at Southern Miss | at Memphis | 19 |
| 16. | Idaho | MWC | 9-0 (7-0) | 593 | 0-0 | 118 | OPEN | at Utah State | 24 |
| 17. | Mississippi | SEC | 8-3 (4-3) | 541 | 2-2 | 29 | W, 33-23 #22 Alabama | at Vanderbilt | 21 |
| 18. | Notre Dame | B10 | 7-3 (5-2) | 459 | 1-1 | 48 | L, 13-17 at Penn State | Wisconsin | 17 |
| 19. | Maryland | ACC | 7-3 (6-1) | 381 | 1-2 | 33 | W, 44-13 Miami | at #14 Wake Forest | 20 |
| 20. | Cincinnati | BigE | 8-3 (6-1) | 311 | 0-2 | 62 | L, 9-13 at #1 LSU | Arkansas State | 14 |
| 21. | USC | Pac12 | 6-3 (6-1) | 242 | 1-2 | 53 | W, 39-9 at Washington | Oregon | 23 |
| 22. | Alabama | SEC | 5-4 (3-4) | 197 | 1-2 | 9 | L, 23-33 at #17 Mississippi | #24 Mississippi State | 16 |
| 23. | Kansas State | B12 | 7-2 (5-2) | 159 | 1-0 | 75 | OPEN | at #13 Rice | 25 |
| 24. | Mississippi State | SEC | 7-4 (3-4) | 110 | 0-3 | 20 | W, 53-6 UNLV | at #22 Alabama | 22 |
| 25. | Fresno State | Pac12 | 8-2 (5-2) | 84 | 1-1 | 65 | OPEN | at San Jose State | 26 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Ohio State 56, Miami (OH) 52, Arkansas 49, Penn State 47, Kent State 46, Baylor 41, South Florida 37, Oklahoma State 34, Connecticut 29, Auburn 24, Vanderbilt 20, West Virginia 18, Virginia Tech 18, Marshall 15, Texas A&M 11, Virginia 9, Georgia Tech 5, Boise State 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Arkansas (18) |
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