Aug. 3, 2001
The Preseason Top Twenty Five teams in the USA Today/ESPN college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records from last season, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last season’s final ranking:
| RK. | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | PVS |
| 1. | Florida (25) | 10-3 | 1,401 | 11 |
| 2. | Miami (15) | 11-1 | 1,349 | 2 |
| 3. | Oklahoma (8) | 13-0 | 1,314 | 1 |
| 4. | Nebraska (6) | 10-2 | 1,292 | 7 |
| 5. | Florida State (1) | 11-2 | 1,249 | 4 |
| 6. | Texas (2) | 9-3 | 1,164 | 12 |
| 7. | Tennessee (1) | 8-4 | 1,042 | 25 |
| 8. | Oregon (1) | 10-2 | 1,038 | 9 |
| 9. | Virginia Tech | 11-1 | 899 | 6 |
| 10. | Michigan (1) | 9-3 | 856 | 10 |
| 11. | Kansas State | 11-3 | 844 | 8 |
| 12. | Oregon State | 11-1 | 796 | 5 |
| 13. | Georgia Tech | 9-3 | 706 | 19 |
| 14. | Washington | 11-1 | 652 | 3 |
| 15. | UCLA | 6-6 | 547 | – |
| 16. | Notre Dame | 9-3 | 534 | 16 |
| 17. | LSU | 8-4 | 515 | – |
| 18. | Clemson | 9-3 | 503 | 14 |
| 19. | Mississippi St. | 8-4 | 481 | 22 |
| 20. | Northwestern | 8-4 | 366 | – |
| 21. | Ohio State | 8-4 | 259 | – |
| 22. | South Carolina | 8-4 | 258 | 21 |
| 23. | Wisconsin | 9-4 | 204 | 24 |
| 24. | Colorado State | 10-2 | 168 | 15 |
| 25. | Alabama | 3-8 | 131 | – |
Also receiving votes: Purdue 120, Georgia 109, Auburn 93, Colorado 92, East Carolina 59, Louisville 51, Texas A&M 47, Pittsburgh 42, Southern California 41, North Carolina State 39, Penn State 31, TCU 27, Stanford 26, Marshall 23, Southern Mississippi 19, Fresno State 15, Brigham Young 14, UNLV 12, Michigan State 11, Minnesota 9, Illinois 8, Arkansas 7, Iowa State 7, Mississippi 7, Toledo 7, Texas-El Paso 4, Texas Tech 3, West Virginia 3, Western Michigan 2, Air Force 1, Duke 1, North Carolina 1, Syracuse 1.
