| Media Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Texas | B12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1594 | 1-0 | 23 | W, 23-20 Tennessee | OPEN | 1 |
| 2. | Texas Tech | B12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1534 | 1-0 | 50 | W, 34-20 #18 Maryland | at #13 Notre Dame | 5 |
| 3. | Alabama | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1461 | 0-0 | 26 | W, 30-6 Oregon State | OPEN | 2 |
| 4. | Mississippi State | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1396 | 0-0 | 53 | W, 17-6 at North Carolina | Connecticut | 3 |
| 5. | Rutgers | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 1336 | 0-0 | 41 | W, 41-10 Colorado | OPEN | 6 |
| 6. | Rice | B12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1266 | 0-0 | 34 | W, 31-15 Marshall | Kansas | 11 |
| 7. | Illinois | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1198 | 0-0 | 57 | W, 25-13 at Florida State | OPEN | 7 |
| 8. | Arkansas | SEC | 1-1 (0-0) | 1134 | 0-1 | 12 | L, 13-31 at #14 California | Tulsa | 4 |
| 9. | USC | Pac12 | 0-1 (0-0) | 1076 | 0-0 | 28 | OPEN | at #18 Maryland | 8 |
| 10. | LSU | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1008 | 0-0 | 51 | W, 41-10 Duke | Missouri | 9 |
| 11. | Wake Forest | ACC | 2-0 (0-0) | 929 | 0-0 | 115 | W, 34-21 Arizona | Duke | 13 |
| 12. | Mississippi | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 887 | 0-0 | 49 | W, 34-31 Miami | Houston | 10 |
| 13. | Notre Dame | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 824 | 0-0 | 69 | W, 28-17 Syracuse | #2 Texas Tech | 12 |
| 14. | California | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 769 | 1-0 | 6 | W, 31-13 #8 Arkansas | West Virginia | 18 |
| 15. | Utah | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 697 | 0-0 | 31 | W, 55-3 South Florida | Arkansas State | 19 |
| 16. | Florida | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 650 | 0-0 | 66 | W, 35-14 at Connecticut | at Washington State | 15 |
| 17. | Texas Christian | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 595 | 0-0 | 55 | W, 34-7 Southern Miss | Iowa State | 16 |
| 18. | Maryland | ACC | 0-2 (0-0) | 548 | 0-2 | 78 | L, 20-34 at #2 Texas Tech | #9 USC | 14 |
| 19. | Northwestern | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 465 | 0-0 | 82 | W, 24-21 at Clemson | Boston College | 17 |
| 20. | Cincinnati | BigE | 1-1 (0-0) | 410 | 0-0 | 21 | W, 35-9 Missouri | Minnesota | 21 |
| 21. | Ohio State | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 362 | 0-0 | 76 | W, 33-17 Indiana | Clemson | 22 |
| 22. | Georgia | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 291 | 0-0 | 39 | W, 28-16 Purdue | OPEN | 23 |
| 23. | Ball State | C-USA | 2-0 (0-0) | 240 | 0-0 | 80 | W, 41-9 at Akron | at Baylor | 24 |
| 24. | Stanford | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 188 | 0-0 | 19 | W, 23-20 Michigan | OPEN | 26 |
| 25. | San Diego State | Pac12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 119 | 0-0 | 9 | L, 23-27 Arkansas State | Louisville | 20 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Arizona 89, Bowling Green 58, Marshall 58, Oregon 57, South Florida 54, Fresno State 54, Oklahoma State 49, UCLA 44, San Jose State 42, Michigan 39, West Virginia 36, Texas A&M 34, Troy 31, North Texas 29, Miami (OH) 28, Penn State 23, Kansas State 18, Michigan State 18, N C State 15, Iowa 13, Georgia Tech 13, Air Force 11, Southern Methodist 8, Western Kentucky 6, Temple 5 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Marshall (25) |
| Coaches Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Texas Tech | B12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1511 | 1-0 | 50 | W, 34-20 #16 Maryland | at #13 Notre Dame | 3 |
| 2. | Texas | B12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1458 | 1-0 | 23 | W, 23-20 Tennessee | OPEN | 1 |
| 3. | Alabama | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1397 | 0-0 | 26 | W, 30-6 Oregon State | OPEN | 2 |
| 4. | Mississippi State | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1340 | 0-0 | 53 | W, 17-6 at North Carolina | Connecticut | 4 |
| 5. | Rice | B12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1276 | 0-0 | 34 | W, 31-15 Marshall | Kansas | 10 |
| 6. | Rutgers | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 1199 | 0-0 | 41 | W, 41-10 Colorado | OPEN | 6 |
| 7. | USC | Pac12 | 0-1 (0-0) | 1144 | 0-0 | 28 | OPEN | at #16 Maryland | 7 |
| 8. | Illinois | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1066 | 0-0 | 57 | W, 25-13 at Florida State | OPEN | 8 |
| 9. | LSU | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 987 | 0-0 | 51 | W, 41-10 Duke | Missouri | 9 |
| 10. | Arkansas | SEC | 1-1 (0-0) | 927 | 0-1 | 12 | L, 13-31 at #15 California | Tulsa | 5 |
| 11. | Wake Forest | ACC | 2-0 (0-0) | 845 | 0-0 | 115 | W, 34-21 Arizona | Duke | 14 |
| 12. | Mississippi | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 791 | 0-0 | 49 | W, 34-31 Miami | Houston | 11 |
| 13. | Notre Dame | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 750 | 0-0 | 69 | W, 28-17 Syracuse | #1 Texas Tech | 12 |
| 14. | Utah | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 688 | 0-0 | 31 | W, 55-3 South Florida | Arkansas State | 17 |
| 15. | California | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 639 | 1-0 | 6 | W, 31-13 #10 Arkansas | West Virginia | 19 |
| 16. | Maryland | ACC | 0-2 (0-0) | 599 | 0-2 | 78 | L, 20-34 at #1 Texas Tech | #7 USC | 13 |
| 17. | Florida | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 532 | 0-0 | 66 | W, 35-14 at Connecticut | at Washington State | 15 |
| 18. | Texas Christian | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 473 | 0-0 | 55 | W, 34-7 Southern Miss | Iowa State | 16 |
| 19. | Northwestern | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 435 | 0-0 | 82 | W, 24-21 at Clemson | Boston College | 18 |
| 20. | Georgia | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 395 | 0-0 | 39 | W, 28-16 Purdue | OPEN | 20 |
| 21. | Cincinnati | BigE | 1-1 (0-0) | 340 | 0-0 | 21 | W, 35-9 Missouri | Minnesota | 21 |
| 22. | Ohio State | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 293 | 0-0 | 76 | W, 33-17 Indiana | Clemson | 23 |
| 23. | Ball State | C-USA | 2-0 (0-0) | 247 | 0-0 | 80 | W, 41-9 at Akron | at Baylor | 24 |
| 24. | Stanford | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 200 | 0-0 | 19 | W, 23-20 Michigan | OPEN | 25 |
| 25. | Bowling Green | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 151 | 0-0 | 42 | W, 27-20 Iowa State | Indiana | 28 |
| Others receiving votes |
| San Diego State 111, Michigan 82, Marshall 52, South Florida 49, Oregon 46, Fresno State 43, West Virginia 38, Arizona 35, UCLA 34, Oklahoma State 29, San Jose State 29, Troy 27, North Texas 23, Kansas State 18, Texas A&M 17, Iowa 12, Michigan State 8, Penn State 8, N C State 8, Miami (OH) 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| San Diego State (22) |
|
