The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 20, 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. (34) | 3-0 | 1,439 | 1 |
| 2. Oregon (12) | 4-0 | 1,400 | 2 |
| 3. Alabama (6) | 4-0 | 1,377 | 3 |
| 4. Oklahoma (4) | 4-0 | 1,343 | 4 |
| 5. Auburn | 3-0 | 1,268 | 5 |
| 6. Texas A&M (4) | 4-0 | 1,232 | 6 |
| 7. Baylor | 3-0 | 1,143 | 7 |
| 8. Notre Dame | 3-0 | 967 | 9 |
| 9. Michigan St. | 2-1 | 905 | 11 |
| 10. Mississippi | 3-0 | 889 | 10 |
| 11. UCLA | 3-0 | 806 | 12 |
| 12. Georgia | 2-1 | 789 | 13 |
| 13. South Carolina | 3-1 | 764 | 14 |
| 14. Mississippi St. | 4-0 | 706 | NR |
| 15. Arizona St. | 3-0 | 702 | 15 |
| 16. Stanford | 2-1 | 564 | 16 |
| 17. LSU | 3-1 | 541 | 8 |
| 18. Southern Cal | 2-1 | 459 | 17 |
| 19. Wisconsin | 2-1 | 451 | 19 |
| 20. BYU | 4-0 | 376 | 21 |
| 21. Nebraska | 4-0 | 296 | 24 |
| 22. Ohio St. | 2-1 | 196 | 23 |
| 23. East Carolina | 3-1 | 180 | NR |
| 24. Oklahoma St. | 2-1 | 132 | 25 |
| 25. Kansas St. | 2-1 | 131 | 20 |
Others receiving votes: Duke 86, Penn St. 81, Clemson 48, TCU 35, Marshall 33, Utah 31, Washington 30, Georgia Tech 22, Boston College 19, West Virginia 15, Cincinnati 11, Arizona 9, Arkansas 9, Missouri 5, Oregon St. 5, N. Dakota St. 3, Indiana 1, Pittsburgh 1,
