| Media Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Ball State | C-USA | 12-0 (8-0) | 1594 | 1-0 | 79 | W, 33-13 at Wake Forest | OPEN | 1 |
| 2. | Rutgers | BigE | 12-0 (8-0) | 1524 | 1-0 | 89 | W, 24-13 at #13 Alabama | OPEN | 2 |
| 3. | Maryland | ACC | 11-1 (8-0) | 1458 | 4-1 | 17 | W, 42-21 #18 Notre Dame | OPEN | 3 |
| 4. | USC | Pac12 | 11-1 (8-1) | 1409 | 2-1 | 25 | OPEN | OPEN | 4 |
| 5. | Florida | SEC | 10-1 (7-1) | 1357 | 2-1 | 37 | OPEN | at Florida State | 5 |
| 6. | Arkansas | SEC | 10-2 (6-2) | 1290 | 2-1 | 62 | W, 18-10 #21 Utah | OPEN | 8 |
| 7. | Illinois | B10 | 11-1 (8-0) | 1201 | 3-0 | 57 | W, 36-13 Texas A&M | OPEN | 6 |
| 8. | Georgia Tech | ACC | 10-1 (7-1) | 1121 | 0-1 | 71 | OPEN | Georgia | 10 |
| 9. | Ohio State | B10 | 10-2 (6-2) | 1042 | 0-2 | 90 | OPEN | OPEN | 9 |
| 10. | Cincinnati | BigE | 10-2 (6-2) | 978 | 0-0 | 70 | OPEN | OPEN | 11 |
| 11. | Miami (OH) | C-USA | 11-1 (7-1) | 894 | 0-1 | 77 | OPEN | OPEN | 14 |
| 12. | Texas | B12 | 9-2 (7-1) | 853 | 2-1 | 55 | W, 39-14 West Virginia | at UCLA | 16 |
| 13. | Alabama | SEC | 8-3 (6-2) | 785 | 2-2 | 3 | L, 13-24 #2 Rutgers | Indiana | 7 |
| 14. | San Diego State | Pac12 | 9-3 (6-3) | 734 | 3-0 | 35 | W, 30-13 #15 Montana | OPEN | 19 |
| 15. | Montana | Sun | 11-1 (8-0) | 687 | 0-1 | 120 | L, 13-30 at #14 San Diego State | OPEN | 12 |
| 16. | Northwestern | B10 | 8-3 (6-2) | 619 | 2-2 | 33 | W, 31-23 at Washington State | Oregon | 17 |
| 17. | Mississippi | SEC | 9-3 (5-3) | 570 | 1-2 | 22 | OPEN | OPEN | 18 |
| 18. | Notre Dame | B10 | 9-3 (6-2) | 509 | 1-3 | 49 | L, 21-42 at #3 Maryland | OPEN | 13 |
| 19. | Texas Tech | B12 | 9-3 (7-1) | 437 | 1-3 | 75 | W, 58-19 Oregon | OPEN | 20 |
| 20. | Western Kentucky | MAC | 10-2 (6-2) | 390 | 0-0 | 113 | OPEN | OPEN | 23 |
| 21. | Utah | Pac12 | 8-4 (7-2) | 323 | 1-3 | 5 | L, 10-18 at #6 Arkansas | OPEN | 15 |
| 22. | Penn State | B10 | 9-3 (6-2) | 275 | 2-1 | 69 | OPEN | OPEN | 22 |
| 23. | Virginia Tech | ACC | 8-3 (7-1) | 205 | 1-2 | 24 | W, 23-19 at Virginia | #25 Rice | 24 |
| 24. | Wyoming | MWC | 11-1 (7-1) | 135 | 0-0 | 119 | OPEN | OPEN | 28 |
| 25. | Rice | B12 | 8-3 (6-2) | 104 | 0-3 | 47 | W, 36-20 Oregon State | at #23 Virginia Tech | 26 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Florida State 75, Mississippi State 47, Wake Forest 47, Georgia 42, California 42, South Florida 37, Arizona 37, Texas Christian 34, Auburn 29, Stanford 26, West Virginia 24, UCLA 20, Virginia 18, Arizona State 16, Pittsburgh 13, Marshall 13, Louisiana-Monroe 10, Michigan 8, Kent State 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Wake Forest (21), West Virginia (25) |
| Coaches Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Rutgers | BigE | 12-0 (8-0) | 1502 | 1-0 | 89 | W, 24-13 at #9 Alabama | OPEN | 1 |
| 2. | Ball State | C-USA | 12-0 (8-0) | 1443 | 1-0 | 79 | W, 33-13 at Wake Forest | OPEN | 3 |
| 3. | Maryland | ACC | 11-1 (8-0) | 1377 | 5-1 | 17 | W, 42-21 #24 Notre Dame | OPEN | 7 |
| 4. | Florida | SEC | 10-1 (7-1) | 1310 | 3-1 | 37 | OPEN | at #23 Florida State | 2 |
| 5. | USC | Pac12 | 11-1 (8-1) | 1258 | 2-1 | 25 | OPEN | OPEN | 5 |
| 6. | Illinois | B10 | 11-1 (8-0) | 1197 | 3-0 | 57 | W, 36-13 Texas A&M | OPEN | 4 |
| 7. | Cincinnati | BigE | 10-2 (6-2) | 1115 | 0-0 | 70 | OPEN | OPEN | 9 |
| 8. | Georgia Tech | ACC | 10-1 (7-1) | 1042 | 1-1 | 71 | OPEN | Georgia | 11 |
| 9. | Alabama | SEC | 8-3 (6-2) | 974 | 2-3 | 3 | L, 13-24 #1 Rutgers | Indiana | 8 |
| 10. | Texas | B12 | 9-2 (7-1) | 895 | 1-1 | 55 | W, 39-14 West Virginia | at UCLA | 12 |
| 11. | Montana | Sun | 11-1 (8-0) | 811 | 0-1 | 120 | L, 13-30 at #15 San Diego State | OPEN | 6 |
| 12. | Arkansas | SEC | 10-2 (6-2) | 753 | 3-1 | 62 | W, 18-10 #20 Utah | OPEN | 13 |
| 13. | Mississippi | SEC | 9-3 (5-3) | 689 | 1-3 | 22 | OPEN | OPEN | 10 |
| 14. | Miami (OH) | C-USA | 11-1 (7-1) | 634 | 0-1 | 77 | OPEN | OPEN | 17 |
| 15. | San Diego State | Pac12 | 9-3 (6-3) | 569 | 3-0 | 35 | W, 30-13 #11 Montana | OPEN | 16 |
| 16. | Ohio State | B10 | 10-2 (6-2) | 522 | 0-2 | 90 | OPEN | OPEN | 15 |
| 17. | Texas Tech | B12 | 9-3 (7-1) | 454 | 0-3 | 75 | W, 58-19 Oregon | OPEN | 19 |
| 18. | Mississippi State | SEC | 7-4 (4-4) | 400 | 3-2 | 15 | W, 50-13 New Mexico | Nevada | 21 |
| 19. | Wyoming | MWC | 11-1 (7-1) | 342 | 0-0 | 119 | OPEN | OPEN | 25 |
| 20. | Utah | Pac12 | 8-4 (7-2) | 262 | 1-3 | 5 | L, 10-18 at #12 Arkansas | OPEN | 14 |
| 21. | Northwestern | B10 | 8-3 (6-2) | 203 | 2-2 | 33 | W, 31-23 at Washington State | Oregon | 22 |
| 22. | Penn State | B10 | 9-3 (6-2) | 157 | 1-1 | 69 | OPEN | OPEN | 23 |
| 23. | Florida State | ACC | 8-3 (5-3) | 105 | 0-2 | 74 | OPEN | #4 Florida | 24 |
| 24. | Notre Dame | B10 | 9-3 (6-2) | 81 | 1-3 | 49 | L, 21-42 at #3 Maryland | OPEN | 18 |
| 25. | Virginia Tech | ACC | 8-3 (7-1) | 52 | 1-3 | 24 | W, 23-19 at Virginia | Rice | 30 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Western Kentucky 52, Virginia 50, Wake Forest 50, Rice 49, Arizona 47, Georgia 47, California 43, Auburn 41, West Virginia 41, Arizona State 37, Stanford 32, UCLA 27, Indiana 27, South Florida 27, Texas Christian 27, Marshall 23, Pittsburgh 18, San Jose State 15, Michigan 14, Baylor 11, Kent State 11, Fresno State 9, Troy 9, LSU 8, Kentucky 8, Memphis 8, Oregon 3, Tennessee 2, Iowa 2, Michigan State 2 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Wake Forest (20) |
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