| Media Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | USC | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1606 | 1-0 | 43 | W, 27-13 at Tennessee | #2 Maryland | 1 |
| 2. | Maryland | ACC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1557 | 2-0 | 14 | W, 33-13 at #7 Texas Tech | at #1 USC | 5 |
| 3. | Alabama | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1508 | 0-0 | 27 | W, 46-10 Akron | OPEN | 2 |
| 4. | Mississippi State | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1441 | 0-0 | 72 | W, 24-17 at Oklahoma State | OPEN | 4 |
| 5. | Rutgers | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 1378 | 1-0 | 71 | W, 23-3 at #20 Georgia | OPEN | 6 |
| 6. | Wake Forest | ACC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1303 | 2-0 | 22 | W, 31-13 at #23 West Virginia | OPEN | 9 |
| 7. | Texas Tech | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 1238 | 1-1 | 90 | L, 13-33 #2 Maryland | at #17 Notre Dame | 3 |
| 8. | Florida | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1175 | 1-0 | 40 | W, 31-27 Baylor | OPEN | 8 |
| 9. | Mississippi | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1100 | 0-0 | 7 | W, 17-10 Duke | Pittsburgh | 10 |
| 10. | Utah | Pac12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 1027 | 0-1 | 19 | W, 39-17 Virginia Tech | OPEN | 12 |
| 11. | Arkansas | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 949 | 0-0 | 61 | W, 27-16 Arkansas State | Baylor | 13 |
| 12. | Illinois | B10 | 1-1 (0-0) | 878 | 0-0 | 45 | L, 21-36 Stanford | Houston | 7 |
| 13. | Cincinnati | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 816 | 0-0 | 82 | W, 40-6 Arizona | Minnesota | 18 |
| 14. | Texas | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 748 | 0-1 | 98 | W, 34-7 Houston | OPEN | 14 |
| 15. | Texas Christian | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 699 | 0-0 | 91 | W, 38-10 UTEP | Hawaii | 15 |
| 16. | LSU | SEC | 0-2 (0-0) | 645 | 0-1 | 21 | L, 22-28 at Purdue | Colorado | 11 |
| 17. | Notre Dame | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 588 | 0-0 | 10 | W, 19-10 Boston College | #7 Texas Tech | 16 |
| 18. | Rice | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 535 | 0-0 | 101 | W, 44-14 Washington State | OPEN | 19 |
| 19. | California | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 449 | 0-0 | 77 | W, 42-31 Penn State | #20 Georgia | 23 |
| 20. | Georgia | SEC | 0-1 (0-0) | 405 | 0-1 | 25 | L, 3-23 #5 Rutgers | at #19 California | 17 |
| 21. | Northwestern | B10 | 1-1 (0-0) | 327 | 0-1 | 17 | W, 25-9 Temple | OPEN | 21 |
| 22. | Ohio State | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 265 | 0-0 | 49 | W, 34-6 Miami | Clemson | 22 |
| 23. | West Virginia | BigE | 1-1 (0-0) | 198 | 0-1 | 16 | L, 13-31 #6 Wake Forest | Louisville | 20 |
| 24. | San Diego State | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 133 | 0-0 | 57 | W, 24-20 at Texas A&M | OPEN | 25 |
| 25. | Kent State | B10 | 1-1 (0-0) | 104 | 0-1 | 29 | W, 45-6 N C State | at Connecticut | 27 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Oregon 80, Penn State 50, Pittsburgh 46, Auburn 46, Navy 42, Arizona 41, Virginia 36, Ball State 36, Michigan State 36, Marshall 34, Florida State 31, Miami (OH) 29, San Jose State 24, Troy 21, Iowa 20, Louisville 15, South Carolina 13, Boise State 10, Georgia Tech 8, Southern Methodist 8, Eastern Michigan 8, Kansas State 8, Louisiana Tech 6, Louisiana-Monroe 3, Montana 2 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Penn State (24) |
| Coaches Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | USC | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 1508 | 1-0 | 43 | W, 27-13 at Tennessee | #2 Maryland | 1 |
| 2. | Maryland | ACC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1452 | 2-0 | 14 | W, 33-13 at #7 Texas Tech | at #1 USC | 5 |
| 3. | Alabama | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1401 | 0-0 | 27 | W, 46-10 Akron | OPEN | 2 |
| 4. | Mississippi State | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1334 | 0-0 | 72 | W, 24-17 at Oklahoma State | OPEN | 4 |
| 5. | Rutgers | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 1278 | 1-0 | 71 | W, 23-3 at #20 Georgia | OPEN | 6 |
| 6. | Wake Forest | ACC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1196 | 1-0 | 22 | W, 31-13 at West Virginia | OPEN | 9 |
| 7. | Texas Tech | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 1128 | 0-1 | 90 | L, 13-33 #2 Maryland | at #16 Notre Dame | 3 |
| 8. | Florida | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 1051 | 1-0 | 40 | W, 31-27 Baylor | OPEN | 7 |
| 9. | Utah | Pac12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 988 | 0-1 | 19 | W, 39-17 Virginia Tech | OPEN | 11 |
| 10. | Texas | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 923 | 0-1 | 98 | W, 34-7 Houston | OPEN | 12 |
| 11. | LSU | SEC | 0-2 (0-0) | 854 | 0-1 | 21 | L, 22-28 at Purdue | Colorado | 10 |
| 12. | Arkansas | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 802 | 0-0 | 61 | W, 27-16 Arkansas State | Baylor | 13 |
| 13. | Cincinnati | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 753 | 0-0 | 82 | W, 40-6 Arizona | Minnesota | 18 |
| 14. | Illinois | B10 | 1-1 (0-0) | 705 | 0-0 | 45 | L, 21-36 Stanford | Houston | 8 |
| 15. | Mississippi | SEC | 2-0 (0-0) | 644 | 0-0 | 7 | W, 17-10 Duke | Pittsburgh | 14 |
| 16. | Notre Dame | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 580 | 0-0 | 10 | W, 19-10 Boston College | #7 Texas Tech | 15 |
| 17. | California | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 534 | 0-0 | 77 | W, 42-31 Penn State | #20 Georgia | 19 |
| 18. | Texas Christian | BigE | 2-0 (0-0) | 480 | 0-0 | 91 | W, 38-10 UTEP | Hawaii | 16 |
| 19. | Ball State | C-USA | 2-0 (0-0) | 433 | 0-0 | 54 | W, 57-24 at Auburn | Boise State | 22 |
| 20. | Georgia | SEC | 0-1 (0-0) | 386 | 0-1 | 25 | L, 3-23 #5 Rutgers | at #17 California | 17 |
| 21. | Ohio State | B10 | 2-0 (0-0) | 323 | 0-0 | 49 | W, 34-6 Miami | Clemson | 20 |
| 22. | Northwestern | B10 | 1-1 (0-0) | 278 | 0-1 | 17 | W, 25-9 Temple | OPEN | 21 |
| 23. | Rice | B12 | 1-1 (0-0) | 238 | 0-0 | 101 | W, 44-14 Washington State | OPEN | 23 |
| 24. | San Diego State | Pac12 | 2-0 (0-0) | 188 | 0-0 | 57 | W, 24-20 at Texas A&M | OPEN | 27 |
| 25. | Oregon | Pac12 | 0-0 (0-0) | 146 | 0-0 | 32 | OPEN | N C State | 29 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Penn State 107, West Virginia 81, Kent State 52, Arizona 50, Pittsburgh 46, Virginia 44, Auburn 40, Navy 38, Florida State 34, Michigan State 30, Miami (OH) 30, Troy 27, San Jose State 27, Iowa 27, Louisville 26, South Carolina 21, Georgia Tech 18, Boise State 18, Montana 18, Eastern Michigan 14, Southern Methodist 14, Kansas State 9, Louisiana-Monroe 8, Stanford 8, Louisiana Tech 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Penn State (25), West Virginia (24) |
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