| Rank | Team | Trend | This Week | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State (14-2) Big Ten | 5 | @ Notre Dame W 34-23 | 1400 (56) |
| 2 | Notre Dame (14-2) IA Independents | 1 | vs. Ohio State L 34-23 | 1342 (0) |
| 3 | Oregon (13-1) Big Ten | -2 | - | 1255 (0) |
| 4 | Texas (13-3) Southeastern | - | - | 1211 (0) |
| 5 | Penn State (13-3) Big Ten | - | - | 1203 (0) |
| 6 | Georgia (11-3) Southeastern | -4 | - | 1141 (0) |
| 7 | Arizona State (11-3) Big 12 | 3 | - | 1041 (0) |
| 8 | Boise State (12-2) Mountain West | - | - | 958 (0) |
| 9 | Tennessee (10-3) Southeastern | -2 | - | 945 (0) |
| 10 | Indiana (11-2) Big Ten | -1 | - | 906 (0) |
| 11 | Ole Miss (10-3) Southeastern | 5 | - | 780 (0) |
| 12 | SMU (11-3) Atlantic Coast | 1 | - | 721 (0) |
| 13 | BYU (11-2) Big 12 | 4 | - | 718 (0) |
| 14 | Clemson (10-4) Atlantic Coast | -2 | - | 712 (0) |
| 15 | Iowa State (11-3) Big 12 | 3 | - | 594 (0) |
| 16 | Illinois (10-3) Big Ten | 5 | - | 533 (0) |
| 17 | Alabama (9-4) Southeastern | -6 | - | 415 (0) |
| 18 | Miami (FL) (10-3) Atlantic coast | -3 | - | 411 (0) |
| 19 | South Carolina (9-4) southeastern | -5 | - | 405 (0) |
| 20 | Syracuse (10-3) Atlantic Coast | 2 | - | 320 (0) |
| 21 | Army (12-2) American athletic | -2 | - | 307 (0) |
| 22 | Missouri (10-3) Southeastern | 1 | - | 266 (0) |
| 23 | UNLV (11-3) Mountain West | 1 | - | 178 (0) |
| 24 | Memphis (11-2) American Athletic | 1 | - | 154 (0) |
| 25 | Colorado (9-4) Big 12 | -5 | - | 79 (0) |
Others receiving votes:
- Navy 55
- LSU 39
- louisville 38
- michigan 36
- kansas st. 11
- marshall 8
- ohio 8
- florida 7
- tcu 2
- texas a&m 1
Point values in parentheses indicate the number of first place votes.