| Media Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Notre Dame | BigE | 6-0 (4-0) | 1606 | 2-0 | 73 | W, 50-14 Navy | #25 Marshall | 4 |
| 2. | Florida | SEC | 6-0 (4-0) | 1547 | 1-0 | 32 | W, 27-15 #5 Tennessee | OPEN | 3 |
| 3. | USC | Pac10 | 4-1 (3-0) | 1498 | 2-1 | 7 | W, 27-10 #10 Oregon St | at #19 California | 2 |
| 4. | Florida St | ACC | 7-0 (4-0) | 1440 | 1-0 | 47 | W, 27-24 at #14 Virginia Tech | Duke | 6 |
| 5. | Tennessee | SEC | 4-1 (2-1) | 1367 | 0-1 | 40 | L, 15-27 at #2 Florida | Ole Miss | 1 |
| 6. | Texas A&M | B12 | 4-1 (2-0) | 1294 | 0-1 | 34 | OPEN | Texas Tech | 7 |
| 7. | UCLA | Pac10 | 5-1 (2-1) | 1207 | 2-1 | 14 | W, 30-17 #19 California | at Oregon | 8 |
| 8. | Oklahoma | B12 | 5-1 (3-0) | 1120 | 1-1 | 44 | W, 42-17 at Air Force | OPEN | 9 |
| 9. | Texas | B12 | 5-1 (2-1) | 1034 | 1-1 | 11 | OPEN | at Nebraska | 11 |
| 10. | Oregon St | Pac10 | 3-1 (1-1) | 968 | 2-1 | 21 | L, 10-27 at #3 USC | Arizona St | 5 |
| 11. | Minnesota | B10 | 5-1 (3-0) | 912 | 1-1 | 50 | W, 20-10 at Illinois | #20 Wisconsin | 12 |
| 12. | Georgia | SEC | 4-2 (3-1) | 871 | 1-1 | 23 | W, 44-20 at Kentucky | OPEN | 13 |
| 13. | Ohio St | B10 | 5-1 (3-0) | 809 | 0-1 | 68 | W, 40-10 Penn St | Iowa | 20 |
| 14. | Virginia Tech | ACC | 5-2 (3-1) | 741 | 1-2 | 4 | L, 24-27 #4 Florida St | at North Carolina | 10 |
| 15. | West Virginia | BigE | 6-0 (4-0) | 678 | 1-0 | 64 | W, 40-20 Cincinnati | at #23 Rutgers | 18 |
| 16. | Miami | ACC | 4-1 (3-1) | 627 | 1-1 | 43 | W, 34-13 at North Carolina | at Boston Coll | 16 |
| 17. | Clemson | ACC | 5-1 (2-1) | 554 | 1-0 | 82 | L, 27-35 at Wake Forest | Georgia Tech | 15 |
| 18. | Michigan | B10 | 2-3 (0-3) | 468 | 0-2 | 61 | OPEN | at Penn St | 17 |
| 19. | California | Pac10 | 3-3 (2-1) | 387 | 0-2 | 8 | L, 17-30 at #7 UCLA | #3 USC | 14 |
| 20. | Wisconsin | B10 | 4-2 (3-0) | 330 | 1-2 | 27 | OPEN | at #11 Minnesota | 19 |
| 21. | Pittsburgh | BigE | 6-0 (4-0) | 255 | 1-0 | 94 | W, 31-24 U Conn | at #22 Syracuse | 30 |
| 22. | Syracuse | BigE | 4-2 (2-2) | 193 | 0-1 | 93 | W, 27-13 at South Fla | #21 Pittsburgh | 22 |
| 23. | Rutgers | BigE | 5-1 (3-0) | 128 | 1-0 | 85 | W, 30-27 at Army | #15 West Virginia | 26 |
| 24. | New Mexico | MtnW | 6-0 (3-0) | 96 | 0-0 | 78 | W, 20-17 San Diego St | OPEN | 29 |
| 25. | Marshall | BigE | 4-2 (2-2) | 72 | 1-2 | 16 | W, 25-22 at Louisville | at #1 Notre Dame | 25 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Penn St 47, LSU 47, Alabama 47, San Diego St 46, Stanford 44, Arizona 42, Boise St 37, Auburn 34, ECU 29, Iowa 26, Arizona St 24, Virginia 24, Tulane 20, North Carolina 20, Utah 20, Wake Forest 15, Air Force 13, Oregon 10, Texas Tech 8, Baylor 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Penn St (21), San Diego St (24), Stanford (23) |
| Coaches Poll |
| Rank | Team | Conf | Record | Points | Top 25 | SOS | Last | Next | Prev |
| 1. | Florida | SEC | 6-0 (4-0) | 1501 | 1-0 | 32 | W, 27-15 #5 Tennessee | OPEN | 2 |
| 2. | Florida St | ACC | 7-0 (4-0) | 1432 | 1-0 | 47 | W, 27-24 at #15 Virginia Tech | Duke | 3 |
| 3. | Notre Dame | BigE | 6-0 (4-0) | 1386 | 2-0 | 73 | W, 50-14 Navy | Marshall | 7 |
| 4. | USC | Pac10 | 4-1 (3-0) | 1340 | 3-1 | 7 | W, 27-10 #7 Oregon St | at #24 California | 8 |
| 5. | Tennessee | SEC | 4-1 (2-1) | 1293 | 0-1 | 40 | L, 15-27 at #1 Florida | Ole Miss | 1 |
| 6. | Oklahoma | B12 | 5-1 (3-0) | 1217 | 1-1 | 44 | W, 42-17 at Air Force | OPEN | 5 |
| 7. | Oregon St | Pac10 | 3-1 (1-1) | 1151 | 2-1 | 21 | L, 10-27 at #4 USC | #23 Arizona St | 4 |
| 8. | Texas A&M | B12 | 4-1 (2-0) | 1074 | 0-1 | 34 | OPEN | Texas Tech | 6 |
| 9. | UCLA | Pac10 | 5-1 (2-1) | 1014 | 2-1 | 14 | W, 30-17 #24 California | at Oregon | 9 |
| 10. | Minnesota | B10 | 5-1 (3-0) | 935 | 2-1 | 50 | W, 20-10 at Illinois | #11 Wisconsin | 12 |
| 11. | Wisconsin | B10 | 4-2 (3-0) | 875 | 1-2 | 27 | OPEN | at #10 Minnesota | 10 |
| 12. | West Virginia | BigE | 6-0 (4-0) | 824 | 1-0 | 64 | W, 40-20 Cincinnati | at Rutgers | 16 |
| 13. | Texas | B12 | 5-1 (2-1) | 773 | 1-1 | 11 | OPEN | at Nebraska | 13 |
| 14. | Ohio St | B10 | 5-1 (3-0) | 726 | 1-0 | 68 | W, 40-10 #25 Penn St | Iowa | 20 |
| 15. | Virginia Tech | ACC | 5-2 (3-1) | 676 | 1-2 | 4 | L, 24-27 #2 Florida St | at North Carolina | 11 |
| 16. | Miami | ACC | 4-1 (3-1) | 621 | 1-1 | 43 | W, 34-13 at North Carolina | at Boston Coll | 15 |
| 17. | Georgia | SEC | 4-2 (3-1) | 554 | 1-1 | 23 | W, 44-20 at Kentucky | OPEN | 14 |
| 18. | Clemson | ACC | 5-1 (2-1) | 500 | 1-0 | 82 | L, 27-35 at Wake Forest | Georgia Tech | 17 |
| 19. | Michigan | B10 | 2-3 (0-3) | 435 | 0-2 | 61 | OPEN | at #25 Penn St | 18 |
| 20. | New Mexico | MtnW | 6-0 (3-0) | 351 | 1-0 | 78 | W, 20-17 San Diego St | OPEN | 30 |
| 21. | Pittsburgh | BigE | 6-0 (4-0) | 267 | 0-0 | 94 | W, 31-24 U Conn | at #22 Syracuse | 24 |
| 22. | Syracuse | BigE | 4-2 (2-2) | 217 | 0-1 | 93 | W, 27-13 at South Fla | #21 Pittsburgh | 22 |
| 23. | Arizona St | Pac10 | 3-2 (2-1) | 168 | 0-2 | 31 | W, 26-10 Wash State | at #7 Oregon St | 23 |
| 24. | California | Pac10 | 3-3 (2-1) | 122 | 0-2 | 8 | L, 17-30 at #9 UCLA | #4 USC | 19 |
| 25. | Penn St | B10 | 3-3 (2-2) | 98 | 0-2 | 13 | L, 10-40 at #14 Ohio St | #19 Michigan | 21 |
| Others receiving votes |
| Rutgers 72, San Diego St 47, Boise St 46, Alabama 44, Iowa St 41, Marshall 41, Arizona 41, ECU 41, UTEP 37, LSU 34, Iowa 34, Virginia 29, Tulane 27, Auburn 26, Wake Forest 23, Utah 18, Air Force 18, North Carolina 18, Oregon 15, So Miss 12, Vanderbilt 8, Duke 3, South Fla 3, Baylor 3 |
| Dropped out of the Top 25 |
| Iowa St (25) |
|
