| Media Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | USC | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1610 | 0-0 | 34 | OPEN | UCLA | 1 |
| 2. | Mississippi State | SEC | 2-1 (0-0) | 1545 | 1-0 | 35 | W, 26-24 #6 Maryland | OPEN | 3 |
| 3. | Texas Tech | B12 | 2-1 (0-0) | 1482 | 2-1 | 60 | W, 30-13 #25 Notre Dame | at Baylor | 5 |
| 4. | Rutgers | BigE | 3-0 (0-0) | 1420 | 0-0 | 2 | W, 48-13 Brigham Young | OPEN | 4 |
| 5. | Alabama | SEC | 3-0 (0-0) | 1352 | 0-0 | 9 | W, 48-37 Troy | at Vanderbilt | 6 |
| 6. | Maryland | ACC | 2-1 (0-0) | 1268 | 2-1 | 57 | L, 24-26 at #2 Mississippi State | OPEN | 2 |
| 7. | LSU | SEC | 3-0 (0-0) | 1185 | 0-0 | 30 | W, 34-17 N C State | #13 Florida | 7 |
| 8. | Utah | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1115 | 0-0 | 24 | W, 31-7 at Connecticut | #19 Oregon | 8 |
| 9. | Texas | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 1025 | 0-1 | 66 | OPEN | at #16 Rice | 9 |
| 10. | Arkansas | SEC | 1-1 (0-0) | 941 | 0-1 | 10 | OPEN | Auburn | 10 |
| 11. | Mississippi | SEC | 3-0 (0-0) | 871 | 0-0 | 43 | W, 28-16 Boston College | Tennessee | 11 |
| 12. | California | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 801 | 1-0 | 32 | W, 20-17 #23 Georgia | at Pittsburgh | 16 |
| 13. | Florida | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 746 | 0-0 | 18 | OPEN | at #7 LSU | 12 |
| 14. | Cincinnati | BigE | 3-0 (0-0) | 691 | 0-0 | 37 | W, 41-10 Purdue | East Carolina | 13 |
| 15. | Wake Forest | ACC | 2-0 (0-0) | 618 | 0-0 | 92 | OPEN | at Georgia Tech | 14 |
| 16. | Rice | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 559 | 0-0 | 75 | OPEN | #9 Texas | 15 |
| 17. | Illinois | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 515 | 0-0 | 97 | OPEN | Purdue | 17 |
| 18. | Northwestern | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 445 | 0-0 | 82 | OPEN | at Penn State | 18 |
| 19. | Oregon | Pac12 | 3-0 (0-0) | 392 | 0-0 | 29 | W, 39-10 Wisconsin | at #8 Utah | 20 |
| 20. | Texas Christian | BigE | 2-1 (0-0) | 343 | 0-0 | 26 | W, 32-7 UTEP | OPEN | 22 |
| 21. | Ball State | C-USA | 2-0 (0-0) | 291 | 0-0 | 104 | OPEN | Eastern Michigan | 23 |
| 22. | Arizona | Pac12 | 2-1 (0-0) | 226 | 0-0 | 16 | W, 26-17 Indiana | OPEN | 24 |
| 23. | Georgia | SEC | 0-2 (0-0) | 159 | 0-1 | 22 | L, 17-20 at #12 California | Kentucky | 19 |
| 24. | West Virginia | BigE | 3-0 (0-0) | 102 | 0-0 | 31 | W, 21-7 Temple | South Florida | 25 |
| 25. | Notre Dame | B10 | 1-2 (0-0) | 70 | 0-1 | 79 | L, 13-30 at #3 Texas Tech | at Wisconsin | 21 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Virginia Tech 37, Fresno State 32, Georgia Tech 28, Kent State 23, East Carolina 21, Arkansas State 18, Marshall 16, San Jose State 16, Tennessee 16, Troy 11, Vanderbilt 6, Ohio State 6, Syracuse 6, Virginia 6, Miami 2, Kansas State 2 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
|
| Coaches Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | USC | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1504 | 0-0 | 34 | OPEN | UCLA | 1 |
| 2. | Rutgers | BigE | 3-0 (0-0) | 1437 | 0-0 | 2 | W, 48-13 Brigham Young | OPEN | 2 |
| 3. | Texas Tech | B12 | 2-1 (0-0) | 1386 | 2-1 | 60 | W, 30-13 #25 Notre Dame | at Baylor | 5 |
| 4. | Alabama | SEC | 3-0 (0-0) | 1336 | 0-0 | 9 | W, 48-37 Troy | at Vanderbilt | 4 |
| 5. | Mississippi State | SEC | 2-1 (0-0) | 1281 | 1-0 | 35 | W, 26-24 #7 Maryland | OPEN | 8 |
| 6. | LSU | SEC | 3-0 (0-0) | 1197 | 0-0 | 30 | W, 34-17 N C State | #12 Florida | 6 |
| 7. | Maryland | ACC | 2-1 (0-0) | 1130 | 2-1 | 57 | L, 24-26 at #5 Mississippi State | OPEN | 3 |
| 8. | Texas | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 1068 | 0-1 | 66 | OPEN | at #17 Rice | 7 |
| 9. | Utah | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 987 | 0-0 | 24 | W, 31-7 at Connecticut | #19 Oregon | 9 |
| 10. | Arkansas | SEC | 1-1 (0-0) | 924 | 0-1 | 10 | OPEN | Auburn | 10 |
| 11. | Cincinnati | BigE | 3-0 (0-0) | 859 | 0-0 | 37 | W, 41-10 Purdue | East Carolina | 11 |
| 12. | Florida | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 808 | 0-0 | 18 | OPEN | at #6 LSU | 12 |
| 13. | California | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 756 | 1-0 | 32 | W, 20-17 #22 Georgia | at Pittsburgh | 17 |
| 14. | Mississippi | SEC | 3-0 (0-0) | 692 | 0-0 | 43 | W, 28-16 Boston College | Tennessee | 13 |
| 15. | Wake Forest | ACC | 2-0 (0-0) | 633 | 0-0 | 92 | OPEN | at Georgia Tech | 14 |
| 16. | Northwestern | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 583 | 0-0 | 82 | OPEN | at Penn State | 15 |
| 17. | Rice | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 514 | 0-0 | 75 | OPEN | #8 Texas | 16 |
| 18. | Illinois | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 453 | 0-0 | 97 | OPEN | Purdue | 19 |
| 19. | Oregon | Pac12 | 3-0 (0-0) | 390 | 0-0 | 29 | W, 39-10 Wisconsin | at #9 Utah | 21 |
| 20. | Ball State | C-USA | 2-0 (0-0) | 336 | 0-0 | 104 | OPEN | Eastern Michigan | 22 |
| 21. | Texas Christian | BigE | 2-1 (0-0) | 287 | 0-0 | 26 | W, 32-7 UTEP | OPEN | 23 |
| 22. | Georgia | SEC | 0-2 (0-0) | 239 | 0-1 | 22 | L, 17-20 at #13 California | Kentucky | 18 |
| 23. | West Virginia | BigE | 3-0 (0-0) | 197 | 0-0 | 31 | W, 21-7 Temple | South Florida | 24 |
| 24. | Arizona | Pac12 | 2-1 (0-0) | 159 | 0-0 | 16 | W, 26-17 Indiana | OPEN | 25 |
| 25. | Notre Dame | B10 | 1-2 (0-0) | 117 | 0-1 | 79 | L, 13-30 at #3 Texas Tech | at Wisconsin | 20 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Virginia Tech 90, Fresno State 61, Georgia Tech 35, Ohio State 30, East Carolina 30, San Jose State 30, Arkansas State 29, Syracuse 29, Vanderbilt 24, Tennessee 21, Virginia 20, Marshall 20, Miami 20, Kansas State 20, Bowling Green 17, UCLA 14, Miami (OH) 14, Troy 12, Arizona State 9, Florida State 9, South Florida 8, Montana 8, Idaho 8, South Carolina 5, Kent State 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
|
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