| Media Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Rutgers | BigE | 9-0 (7-0) | 1592 | 3-0 | 56 | OPEN | at Syracuse | 2 |
| 2. | LSU | SEC | 8-1 (7-0) | 1532 | 4-1 | 1 | W, 24-10 at Vanderbilt | at #5 Mississippi State | 3 |
| 3. | Wake Forest | ACC | 8-1 (7-0) | 1474 | 2-1 | 5 | OPEN | at Virginia | 4 |
| 4. | Texas Tech | B12 | 8-1 (6-1) | 1412 | 1-1 | 37 | L, 13-20 #8 Rice | at North Texas | 1 |
| 5. | Mississippi State | SEC | 9-0 (7-0) | 1339 | 3-0 | 69 | OPEN | #2 LSU | 7 |
| 6. | Notre Dame | B10 | 9-1 (6-1) | 1266 | 1-0 | 98 | W, 43-3 Michigan | Penn State | 10 |
| 7. | Maryland | ACC | 9-1 (6-1) | 1198 | 3-1 | 4 | OPEN | at Clemson | 5 |
| 8. | Rice | B12 | 8-1 (7-0) | 1138 | 1-1 | 32 | W, 20-13 at #4 Texas Tech | #17 Texas | 12 |
| 9. | Virginia Tech | ACC | 7-1 (5-1) | 1068 | 0-1 | 11 | W, 24-16 Louisville | at Boston College | 9 |
| 10. | Florida | SEC | 8-1 (6-1) | 983 | 2-1 | 80 | OPEN | at #23 Mississippi | 6 |
| 11. | Illinois | C-USA | 10-0 (7-0) | 897 | 0-0 | 115 | W, 20-9 at Miami (OH) | at Air Force | 11 |
| 12. | Utah | Pac12 | 8-2 (5-2) | 845 | 1-0 | 90 | W, 27-10 at San Jose State | Washington | 8 |
| 13. | Montana | Sun | 10-0 (7-0) | 796 | 0-0 | 114 | W, 38-34 at Central Florida | Southern Miss | 16 |
| 14. | Wyoming | MWC | 9-0 (7-0) | 726 | 0-0 | 108 | W, 40-10 UNLV | at Utah State | 17 |
| 15. | Ohio State | B10 | 9-2 (5-2) | 679 | 0-1 | 72 | L, 16-23 Kent State | at Wisconsin | 13 |
| 16. | Ball State | C-USA | 8-1 (6-1) | 632 | 1-0 | 75 | W, 40-23 Northwestern | Brigham Young | 23 |
| 17. | Texas | B12 | 7-2 (6-1) | 561 | 0-2 | 48 | OPEN | at #8 Rice | 20 |
| 18. | California | Pac12 | 7-2 (5-2) | 484 | 0-0 | 103 | OPEN | at Oregon | 21 |
| 19. | Texas Christian | BigE | 8-2 (5-2) | 411 | 0-1 | 96 | OPEN | #22 Cincinnati | 18 |
| 20. | Arkansas | SEC | 6-3 (4-3) | 336 | 1-3 | 60 | L, 0-38 at #24 Alabama | Auburn | 14 |
| 21. | USC | Pac12 | 6-3 (5-2) | 247 | 0-2 | 43 | W, 41-23 at Arizona State | UCLA | 19 |
| 22. | Cincinnati | BigE | 8-3 (4-3) | 177 | 0-2 | 62 | W, 37-36 at West Virginia | at #19 Texas Christian | 24 |
| 23. | Mississippi | SEC | 7-4 (3-4) | 109 | 1-3 | 22 | L, 32-44 at Kentucky | #10 Florida | 15 |
| 24. | Alabama | SEC | 5-4 (3-4) | 83 | 1-4 | 8 | W, 38-0 #20 Arkansas | at Georgia | 27 |
| 25. | East Carolina | BigE | 7-3 (4-3) | 52 | 1-1 | 71 | OPEN | at Houston | 28 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Georgia 50, Northwestern 50, Virginia 49, Florida State 46, Kent State 42, Navy 41, Boston College 36, Miami 34, South Florida 29, Auburn 26, Marshall 26, Michigan 24, Arizona 21, Oklahoma 16, Louisville 15, Iowa 11, Baylor 10, Miami (OH) 10, Middle Tennessee State 6, Hawaii 6, Georgia Tech 3, Stanford 3, Indiana 2 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Northwestern (25), Navy (22) |
| Coaches Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Rutgers | BigE | 9-0 (7-0) | 1496 | 3-0 | 56 | OPEN | at Syracuse | 3 |
| 2. | Mississippi State | SEC | 9-0 (7-0) | 1447 | 3-0 | 69 | OPEN | #3 LSU | 2 |
| 3. | LSU | SEC | 8-1 (7-0) | 1380 | 4-1 | 1 | W, 24-10 at Vanderbilt | at #2 Mississippi State | 4 |
| 4. | Rice | B12 | 8-1 (7-0) | 1324 | 1-1 | 32 | W, 20-13 at #5 Texas Tech | #20 Texas | 11 |
| 5. | Texas Tech | B12 | 8-1 (6-1) | 1264 | 1-1 | 37 | L, 13-20 #4 Rice | at North Texas | 1 |
| 6. | Notre Dame | B10 | 9-1 (6-1) | 1190 | 1-0 | 98 | W, 43-3 Michigan | Penn State | 9 |
| 7. | Virginia Tech | ACC | 7-1 (5-1) | 1116 | 0-1 | 11 | W, 24-16 Louisville | at Boston College | 7 |
| 8. | Florida | SEC | 8-1 (6-1) | 1054 | 2-1 | 80 | OPEN | at #25 Mississippi | 8 |
| 9. | Wake Forest | ACC | 8-1 (7-0) | 976 | 2-1 | 5 | OPEN | at Virginia | 5 |
| 10. | Maryland | ACC | 9-1 (6-1) | 901 | 3-1 | 4 | OPEN | at Clemson | 6 |
| 11. | Illinois | C-USA | 10-0 (7-0) | 840 | 0-0 | 115 | W, 20-9 at Miami (OH) | at Air Force | 13 |
| 12. | Utah | Pac12 | 8-2 (5-2) | 779 | 1-0 | 90 | W, 27-10 at San Jose State | Washington | 10 |
| 13. | Montana | Sun | 10-0 (7-0) | 723 | 0-0 | 114 | W, 38-34 at Central Florida | Southern Miss | 16 |
| 14. | USC | Pac12 | 6-3 (5-2) | 671 | 0-2 | 43 | W, 41-23 at Arizona State | UCLA | 15 |
| 15. | Ohio State | B10 | 9-2 (5-2) | 624 | 0-1 | 72 | L, 16-23 Kent State | at Wisconsin | 14 |
| 16. | Ball State | C-USA | 8-1 (6-1) | 573 | 1-0 | 75 | W, 40-23 Northwestern | Brigham Young | 23 |
| 17. | Arkansas | SEC | 6-3 (4-3) | 528 | 1-3 | 60 | L, 0-38 at #24 Alabama | Auburn | 12 |
| 18. | Texas Christian | BigE | 8-2 (5-2) | 480 | 0-1 | 96 | OPEN | #21 Cincinnati | 21 |
| 19. | California | Pac12 | 7-2 (5-2) | 412 | 0-0 | 103 | OPEN | at Oregon | 17 |
| 20. | Texas | B12 | 7-2 (6-1) | 331 | 0-2 | 48 | OPEN | at #4 Rice | 19 |
| 21. | Cincinnati | BigE | 8-3 (4-3) | 276 | 0-2 | 62 | W, 37-36 at West Virginia | at #18 Texas Christian | 20 |
| 22. | Wyoming | MWC | 9-0 (7-0) | 236 | 0-0 | 108 | W, 40-10 UNLV | at Utah State | 27 |
| 23. | East Carolina | BigE | 7-3 (4-3) | 183 | 1-1 | 71 | OPEN | at Houston | 24 |
| 24. | Alabama | SEC | 5-4 (3-4) | 139 | 1-4 | 8 | W, 38-0 #17 Arkansas | at Georgia | 22 |
| 25. | Mississippi | SEC | 7-4 (3-4) | 88 | 1-3 | 22 | L, 32-44 at Kentucky | #8 Florida | 18 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Virginia 64, Northwestern 40, Georgia 35, Michigan 30, Florida State 26, Boston College 24, Kent State 24, Auburn 20, Navy 15, South Florida 14, Marshall 9, Arizona 5, Miami (OH) 5, Miami 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Navy (25) |
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