The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 27, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
| Record | Pts | Pv | |
| 1. Florida St. (27) | 4-0 | 1,416 | 1 |
| 2. Oregon (13) | 4-0 | 1,405 | 2 |
| 3. Alabama (13) | 4-0 | 1,387 | 3 |
| 4. Oklahoma (7) | 4-0 | 1,357 | 4 |
| 5. Auburn | 4-0 | 1,272 | 5 |
| 6. Texas A&M | 5-0 | 1,206 | 6 |
| 7. Baylor | 4-0 | 1,149 | 7 |
| 8. UCLA | 4-0 | 975 | 11 |
| 9. Notre Dame | 4-0 | 972 | 8 |
| 10. Michigan St. | 3-1 | 944 | 9 |
| 11. Mississippi | 4-0 | 906 | 10 |
| 12. Mississippi St. | 4-0 | 848 | 14 |
| 13. Georgia | 3-1 | 788 | 12 |
| 14. Stanford | 3-1 | 643 | 16 |
| 15. LSU | 4-1 | 636 | 17 |
| 16. Southern Cal | 3-1 | 560 | 18 |
| 17. Wisconsin | 3-1 | 502 | 19 |
| 18. BYU | 4-0 | 450 | 20 |
| 19. Nebraska | 5-0 | 445 | 21 |
| 20. Ohio St. | 3-1 | 298 | 22 |
| 21. Oklahoma St. | 3-1 | 246 | 24 |
| 22. East Carolina | 3-1 | 237 | 23 |
| 23. Kansas St. | 3-1 | 216 | 25 |
| 24. Missouri | 4-1 | 145 | NR |
| 25. TCU | 3-0 | 109 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Arizona St. 97, South Carolina 61, Clemson 52, Arizona 43, Marshall 40, Georgia Tech 37, West Virginia 24, Arkansas 18, Maryland 5, Louisville 4, N. Dakota St. 3, Washington 2, NC State 1, Virginia 1.