| USA Today Poll | |||
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | Oklahoma (43) | 1-0 | 1454 |
| 2 | Alabama (9) | 1-0 | 1412 |
| 3 | LSU (7) | 1-0 | 1366 |
| 4 | Florida State | 1-0 | 1198 |
| 5 | Boise State | 1-0 | 1197 |
| 6 | Stanford | 1-0 | 1180 |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | 1-0 | 1038 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 1-0 | 997 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 1-0 | 988 |
| 10 | Nebraska | 1-0 | 910 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 1-0 | 863 |
| 12 | South Carolina | 1-0 | 827 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 1-0 | 786 |
| 14 | Oregon | 0-1 | 752 |
| 15 | Ohio State | 1-0 | 686 |
| 16 | Michigan State | 1-0 | 584 |
| 17 | Mississippi State | 1-0 | 497 |
| 18 | Florida | 1-0 | 375 |
| 19 | Missouri | 1-0 | 309 |
| 20 | Penn State | 1-0 | 247 |
| 21 | Texas | 1-0 | 231 |
| 22 | Auburn | 1-0 | 197 |
| 23 | Arizona State | 1-0 | 189 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 1-0 | 185 |
| 25 | TCU | 0-1 | 140 |
Dropped from rankings: Notre Dame 18, Georgia 22
Others receiving votes: Baylor 117, South Florida 97, Iowa 44, Utah 42, Georgia 35, Houston 31, Northwestern 30, Arizona 28, UCF 18, Hawaii 17, North Carolina 15, Michigan 15, NORIL 13, Clemson 13, Southern Miss 12, Air Force 10, Notre Dame 8, Tennessee 5, Brigham Young 4, Maryland 4, Georgia Tech 3, Washington 3, Texas Tech 1, California 1, Cincinnati 1
