Clemson moved up to No. 20 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1ST PLACE VOTES | PREV | CHANGE | HI/LOW |
| 1 | Mississippi State | 6-0 | 1520 | 36 | 1 | – | 1/NR |
| 2 | Florida State | 7-0 | 1493 | 22 | 2 | – | 1/2 |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 7-0 | 1447 | 4 | 3 | – | 3/19 |
| 4 | Alabama | 6-1 | 1293 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 1/7 |
| 5 | Michigan State | 6-1 | 1243 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6/13 |
| 6 | Auburn | 5-1 | 1210 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 2/8 |
| 7 | Oregon | 6-1 | 1133 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 3/11 |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 6-1 | 1117 | 0 | 5 | -3 | 5/17 |
| 9 | Georgia | 6-1 | 1096 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 6/14 |
| 10 | TCU | 5-1 | 996 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 12/NR |
| 11 | Kansas State | 5-1 | 909 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 14/25 |
| 12 | Ohio State | 5-1 | 856 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 6/20 |
| 13 | Baylor | 6-1 | 853 | 0 | 4 | -9 | 3/10 |
| 14 | Arizona State | 5-1 | 654 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 12/24 |
| 15 | Arizona | 5-1 | 612 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 13/NR |
| 16 | Nebraska | 6-1 | 588 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 17/22 |
| 17 | East Carolina | 5-1 | 578 | 0 | 16 | -1 | 16/NR |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 5-2 | 482 | 0 | 11 | -7 | 3/11 |
| 19 | Utah | 5-1 | 371 | 0 | 23 | 4 | 23/NR |
| 20 | Clemson | 5-2 | 320 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 16/NR |
| 21 | USC | 5-2 | 258 | 0 | 25 | 4 | 10/NR |
| 22 | Marshall | 7-0 | 247 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 24/NR |
| 23 | LSU | 6-2 | 155 | 0 | 27 | 4 | 8/NR |
| 24 | Minnesota | 6-1 | 147 | 0 | 28 | 4 | – |
| 25 | West Virginia | 5-2 | 143 | 0 | 33 | 8 | – |