The BCS released the first rankings of the college football season today and LSU and Alabama are in the top spots. Boise State's ranking comes at bit of a surprise due to the weak strength of schedule. Penn State made its way into the top 25 with a ranking of 21. The Nittany Lions are 6-1 on the season, dropping the second game to #2 Alabama. They are also 3-0 in their division.
| BCS | Harris Poll | USA Today | Computer Rankings | ||||||||||||||
| RK | TEAM | AVG | PVS | RK | PTS | % | RK | PTS | % | AVG | A&H | RB | CM | KM | JS | PW | % |
| 1 | LSU | .9522 | NR | 1 | 2819 | .9891 | 2 | 1410 | .9559 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .920 |
| 2 | Alabama | .9519 | NR | 2 | 2744 | .9628 | 3 | 1403 | .9512 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .950 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | .9301 | NR | 3 | 2684 | .9418 | 1 | 1426 | .9668 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | .890 |
| 4 | Oklahoma State | .8568 | NR | 6 | 2315 | .8123 | 6 | 1173 | .7953 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | .970 |
| 5 | Boise State | .8027 | NR | 5 | 2339 | .8207 | 7 | 1172 | .7946 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | .800 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | .7708 | NR | 4 | 2463 | .8642 | 4 | 1262 | .8556 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 17 | 6 | 12 | .600 |
| 7 | Clemson | .7582 | NR | 8 | 2063 | .7239 | 8 | 1028 | .6969 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | .860 |
| 8 | Stanford | .7484 | NR | 7 | 2291 | .8039 | 5 | 1222 | .8285 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 20 | 15 | 10 | .620 |
| 9 | Arkansas | .6263 | NR | 10 | 1805 | .6333 | 10 | 931 | .6312 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 8 | .620 |
| 10 | Oregon | .6190 | NR | 9 | 1955 | .6860 | 8 | 1028 | .6969 | 12 | 16 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 18 | .480 |
| 11 | Kansas State | .5688 | NR | 12 | 1457 | .5112 | 16 | 678 | .4597 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | .740 |
| 12 | Virginia Tech | .5048 | NR | 16 | 1259 | .4418 | 14 | 688 | .4664 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 9 | .610 |
| 13 | Nebraska | .4972 | NR | 11 | 1484 | .5207 | 11 | 775 | .5254 | 15 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 16 | .450 |
| 14 | South Carolina | .4914 | NR | 13 | 1396 | .4898 | 12 | 765 | .5186 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 20 | 17 | .470 |
| 15 | West Virginia | .3730 | NR | 14 | 1359 | .4768 | 14 | 688 | .4664 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 24 | .180 |
| 16 | Michigan State | .3288 | NR | 15 | 1290 | .4526 | 13 | 690 | .4678 | 24 | 25 | 19 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 23 | .070 |
| 17 | Texas A&M | .3074 | NR | 19 | 779 | .2733 | 18 | 415 | .2814 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 22 | 10 | 16 | 15 | .370 |
| 18 | Michigan | .2995 | NR | 17 | 914 | .3207 | 17 | 458 | .3105 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 10 | 23 | 0 | 20 | .270 |
| 19 | Houston | .2863 | NR | 22 | 562 | .1972 | 20 | 359 | .2434 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 19 | 18 | 13 | .420 |
| 20 | Auburn | .2645 | NR | 21 | 565 | .1982 | 23 | 202 | .1369 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 25 | 14 | 10 | 11 | .460 |
| 21 | Penn State | .2311 | NR | 24 | 293 | .1028 | 22 | 253 | .1715 | 16 | 20 | 0 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 14 | .420 |
| 22 | Georgia Tech | .1968 | NR | 18 | 839 | .2944 | 19 | 396 | .2685 | 27 | 24 | 0 | 24 | 25 | 0 | 0 | .030 |
| 23 | Illinois | .1516 | NR | 20 | 571 | .2004 | 21 | 260 | .1763 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .080 |
| 24 | Texas | .1348 | NR | NR | 77 | .0270 | NR | 26 | .0176 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 19 | 11 | 17 | 19 | .360 |
| 25 | Washington | .0871 | NR | 25 | 240 | .0842 | 24 | 174 | .1180 | 25 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 25 | .060 |