Clemson finished ranked No. 18 in the final USA Today Coaches Poll.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1ST PLACE VOTES | PREV | CHANGE | HI/LOW |
| 1 | Alabama | 12-1 | 1486 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 1/7 |
| 2 | Florida State | 13-0 | 1450 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 1/2 |
| 3 | Oregon | 12-1 | 1439 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3/11 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 12-1 | 1307 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 6/20 |
| 5 | Baylor | 11-1 | 1277 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3/13 |
| 6 | TCU | 11-1 | 1276 | 1 | 4 | -2 | 4/NR |
| 7 | Michigan State | 10-2 | 1143 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5/13 |
| 8 | Mississippi State | 10-2 | 1079 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 1/NR |
| 9 | Georgia Tech | 10-3 | 922 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 12/NR |
| 10 | Kansas State | 9-3 | 915 | 0 | 9 | -1 | 9/25 |
| 11 | Arizona | 10-3 | 903 | 0 | 8 | -3 | 8/NR |
| 12 | Ole Miss | 9-3 | 882 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 3/19 |
| 13 | Georgia | 9-3 | 759 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 6/17 |
| 14 | Missouri | 10-3 | 676 | 0 | 13 | -1 | 13/NR |
| 15 | UCLA | 9-3 | 661 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 9/NR |
| 16 | Arizona State | 9-3 | 599 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 8/24 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 10-3 | 566 | 0 | 11 | -6 | 11/NR |
| 18 | Clemson | 9-3 | 518 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 17/NR |
| 19 | Auburn | 8-4 | 395 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 2/21 |
| 20 | Louisville | 9-3 | 381 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 20/NR |
| 21 | Boise State | 11-2 | 325 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 22/NR |
| 22 | Nebraska | 9-3 | 200 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 11/NR |
| 23 | LSU | 8-4 | 173 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 8/NR |
| 24 | Oklahoma | 8-4 | 100 | 0 | 16 | -8 | 3/24 |
| 25 | Utah | 8-4 | 72 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 18/NR |