Tommy Tuberville was surely joking when he said that the Bearcats could wind up in the top 25 without even playing a game because of the inexplicable two week delay in starting the season. But the Bearcats are slowly but surely moving up the ranks as a consensus solidifies and much fancied teams in the 25-40 range stumble and fall. This week the Bearcats once again received points in the coaches poll and inched closer to the top 25. Not bad for a team still waiting to play a game.
| Ranking | School | First Place votes |
| 1 | Florida State | 51 |
| 2 | Alabama | 1 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 3 |
| 4 | Oregon | 6 |
| 5 | Auburn | |
| 6 | Georgia | 1 |
| 7 | Baylor | |
| 8 | Texas A&M | |
| 9 | LSU | |
| 10 | USC | |
| 11 | Notre Dame | |
| 12 | UCLA | |
| 13 | Michigan State | |
| 14 | Arizona State | |
| 15 | Ole Miss | |
| 16 | Stanford | |
| 17 | Wisconsin | |
| 18 | Ohio State | |
| 19 | Virginia Tech | |
| 20 | Kansas State | |
| 21 | Nebraska | |
| 22 | Missouri | |
| 23 | South Carolina | |
| 24 | Clemson | |
| 25 | North Carolina |