2016 AP & Coaches Polls updated 1/10/17
| AP TOP 25 Ranking | USA TODAY COACHES TOP 25 | ||||||||||
| Starting Preseason 8/20/16 | Final | Starting Preaseason 8/3/16 | Final | ||||||||
| RK | Team | Pts | RK | Team | Pts | RK | Team | Pts | RK | Team | Pts |
| 1 | Alabama (33) | 1469 | 1. | Clemson (60) | 1500 | 1. | Ohio St. (62) | 1598 | 1. | Clemson (60) | 1500 |
| 2 | Clemson (16) | 1443 | 2. | Alabama | 1440 | 2. | TCU (1) | 1487 | 2. | Alabama | 1440 |
| 3 | Oklahoma (4) | 1352 | 3. | USC | 1292 | 3. | Alabama (1) | 1452 | 3. | Oklahoma | 1308 |
| 4 | Florida St. (5) | 1325 | 4. | Washington | 1277 | 4. | Baylor | 1365 | 4. | Washington | 1265 |
| 5 | LSU (1) | 1269 | 5. | Oklahoma | 1252 | 5. | Oregon | 1260 | 5. | USC | 1263 |
| 6 | Ohio St. (1) | 1224 | 6. | Ohio State | 1240 | 6. | Michigan St. | 1230 | 6. | Ohio State | 1186 |
| 7 | Michigan (1) | 1147 | 7. | Penn State | 1130 | 7. | Auburn | 1103 | 7. | Penn State | 1123 |
| 8 | Stanford | 1029 | 8. | Florida State | 1105 | 8. | Florida St. | 1057 | 8. | Florida State | 1102 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 1021 | 9. | Wisconsin | 1032 | 9. | Georgia | 1026 | 9. | Wisconsin | 1044 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 1006 | 10. | Michigan | 1001 | 10. | USC | 1014 | 10. | Michigan | 986 |
| 11 | Mississippi | 718 | 11. | Oklahoma State | 920 | 11. | Notre Dame | 883 | 11. | Oklahoma State | 922 |
| 12 | Michigan St. | 710 | 12. | Stanford | 730 | 12. | Clemson | 838 | 12. | Stanford | 791 |
| 13 | TCU | 707 | 13. | LSU | 651 | 13. | LSU | 727 | 13. | Florida | 673 |
| 14 | Washington | 651 | 14. | Florida | 640 | 14. | UCLA | 697 | 14. | LSU | 641 |
| 15 | Houston | 644 | 15. | Western Michigan | 619 | 15. | Mississippi | 668 | 15. | Colorado | 634 |
| 16 | UCLA | 496 | 16. | Virginia Tech | 610 | 16. | Arizona St. | 577 | 16. | Virginia Tech | 632 |
| 17 | Iowa | 484 | 17. | Colorado | 585 | 17. | Georgia Tech | 573 | 17. | West Virginia | 522 |
| 18 | Georgia | 448 | 18. | West Virginia | 368 | 18. | Wisconsin | 470 | 18. | Western Michigan | 449 |
| 19 | Louisville | 447 | 19. | South Florida | 358 | 19. | Oklahoma | 407 | 19. | South Florida | 362 |
| 20 | USC | 344 | 20. | Miami (Fla.) | 338 | 20. | Arkansas | 377 | 20. | Louisville | 338 |
| 21 | Oklahoma St. | 316 | 21. | Louisville | 277 | 21. | Stanford | 365 | 21. | Utah | 303 |
| 22 | N. Carolina | 283 | 22. | Tennessee | 253 | 22. | Arizona | 299 | 22. | Auburn | 230 |
| 23 | Baylor | 280 | 23. | Utah | 222 | 23. | Missouri | 229 | 23. | Miami (Fla.) | 229 |
| 24 | Oregon | 218 | 24. | Auburn | 206 | 24. | Boise St. | 190 | 24. | Tennessee | 211 |
| 25 | Florida | 180 | 25. | San Diego State | 113 | 25. | Tennessee | 166 | 25. | San Diego State | 102 |
| Other Votes | Other Votes | Other Votes | Other Votes | ||||||||
| Miami (FL) 159, | Kansas St. 83 | Miami (FL) 120, | Nebraska 46 | ||||||||
| Texas A&M 81, | Georgia Tech 47 | Wisconsin 82, | Kansas State 44 | ||||||||
| Utah 74, | Nebraska 38 | Boise St. 73, | Georgia Tech 24 | ||||||||
| Washington St. 68, | W. Kentucky 32 | Utah 73, | Western Kentucky 23 | ||||||||
| Boise St. 49, | Air Force 30 | Washington St. 47, | Boise State 20 | ||||||||
| S. Diego St. 46, | Pittsburgh 21 | Texas A&M 37, | Air Force 18 | ||||||||
| Wisconsin 42, | Boise St. 19 | Arkansas 34, | Iowa 17 | ||||||||
| Auburn 22, | Iowa 14 | Texas 34, | Temple 16 | ||||||||
| Pittsburgh 15, | Minnesota 12 | Northwestern 31, | Tulsa 11 | ||||||||
| Arkansas 14, | Tulsa 10 | Navy 30, | Minnesota 7 | ||||||||
| Texas 12, | BYU 9 | Mississippi St. 19, | Georgia 5 | ||||||||
| Nebraska 11, | Temple 8 | S. Diego St. 18, | Navy 3 | ||||||||
| Navy 8, | Houston 8 | Nebraska 17, | Wake Forest 3 | ||||||||
| Northwestern 5, | North Carolina 8 | Auburn 17, | Washington State 2 | ||||||||
| W. Kentucky 4, | Navy 1 | W. Kentucky 11, | Troy 2 | ||||||||
| South Florida 2, | Navy 1 | Pittsburgh 8, | Arkansas 2 | ||||||||
| Toledo 2 | Washington St. 1. | BYU 6, | BYU 1 | ||||||||
| Miami (FL) 159, | Appalachian St. 4, | ||||||||||
| Texas A&M 81, | Duke 3, | ||||||||||
| Arizona 2, | |||||||||||
| Toledo 2, | |||||||||||
| South Florida 2, | |||||||||||
| Marshall 2, | |||||||||||
| Memphis 1, | |||||||||||
| Northern Illinois 1, | |||||||||||
| Indiana 1 | |||||||||||
| SELECTION COMMITTEE | |||||||||||
| Starting Rank | Last Update | ||||||||||
| 11/2/16 | 12/4/16 | ||||||||||
| RK | Team | RK | Team | ||||||||
| 1. | Alabama | 1. | Alabama | ||||||||
| 2. | Clemson | 2. | Clemson | ||||||||
| 3. | Michigan | 3. | Ohio State | ||||||||
| 4. | Texas A&M | 4. | Washington | ||||||||
| 5. | Washington | 5. | Penn State | ||||||||
| 6. | Ohio State | 6. | Michigan | ||||||||
| 7. | Louisville | 7. | Oklahoma | ||||||||
| 8. | Wisconsin | 8. | Wisconsin | ||||||||
| 9. | Auburn | 9. | USC | ||||||||
| 10. | Nebraska | 10. | Colorado | ||||||||
| 11. | Florida | 11. | Florida State | ||||||||
| 12. | Penn State | 12. | Oklahoma State | ||||||||
| 13. | LSU | 13. | Louisville | ||||||||
| 14. | Oklahoma | 14. | Auburn | ||||||||
| 15. | Colorado | 15. | Western Michigan | ||||||||
| 16. | Utah | 16. | West Virginia | ||||||||
| 17. | Baylor | 17. | Florida | ||||||||
| 18. | Oklahoma State | 18. | Stanford | ||||||||
| 19. | Virginia Tech | 19. | Utah | ||||||||
| 20. | West Virginia | 20. | LSU | ||||||||
| 21. | North Carolina | 21. | Tennessee | ||||||||
| 22. | Florida State | 22. | Virginia Tech | ||||||||
| 23. | Western Michigan | 23. | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| 24. | Boise State | 24. | Temple | ||||||||
| 25. | Washington State | 25. | Navy | ||||||||
Past Season AP/USA Today Polls.
2015 Final
2014 Final
2013 Final