2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Three polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a National Championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season, two additional polls are released, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS Standings. At the end of the season, the BCS Standings determines who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship Game.

As the 2007 football season progresses, the standings are updated weekly. The team voted number one in the final AP and Coaches Polls can claim the title of National Champion. There are no BCS standings or Harris Poll published following the bowl games as their sole purpose is to determine who plays in the BCS National Championship Game. Other polls exist and may vote for different schools which causes confusion, especially for split titles.

AP poll
The Associated Press (AP) preseason poll was released on August 18, 2007. The AP Poll is the oldest poll still in use. This poll is compiled by sportswriters across the nation. This season was the second season since the inception of the BCS that the AP Poll was not included in the BCS formula. The AP ordered a cease and desist to stop the BCS from using their poll and the BCS complied and created the Harris Interactive Poll in response. The AP poll operates identically to the Coaches and Harris Polls, except there is no inclusion into the BCS. The maximum points a team can earn is 1650. As a result of Michigan's loss to Division I-FCS Appalachian State, the AP Poll changed its policy on not allowing pollsters to vote for Division I-FCS opponents. Now, if the Division I-FCS team has played as Division I-FBS team, they are eligible to be voted for in the AP Poll.

Coaches Poll
The Coaches Poll is the second oldest poll still in use after the AP Poll. It is compiled by a rotating group of 62 college football Division I head coaches. The Coaches Poll operates by Borda count. Each voting member ranks teams from 1 to 25. Each team then receives points for their ranking in reverse order: Number 1 earns 25 points, number 2 earns 24 points, and so forth. The points are then combined and the team with the highest points is then ranked #1; second highest is ranked #2 and so forth. Only the top 25 teams with points are ranked, with teams receiving first place votes noted the quantity next to their name. Any team receiving votes after the top 25 are listed after the top 25 by their point totals. However, these are not real rankings: They are not considered #26, #27, etc. The maximum points a single team can earn is 1550. The preseason poll was released on August 3, 2007.

BlogPoll
The BlogPoll is a poll run and voted on by sports bloggers. 2007 is the 3rd year of the poll. Currently, over 60 separate blogs vote in the poll. It is administered by the Michigan blog mgoblog.

CBSSports.com 120
The CBSSports.com 120 (formerly the SportsLine 119) is a ranking of all 120 FBS teams in the nation maintained by CBS SportsLine.com that takes into account strength of schedule rankings and votes from SportsLine writers, editors and producers. The top 25 from the CBSSports.com 120 are shown below:

Preseason polls
Various publications release their preseason top 25 rankings months before the season commences. The 2007-08 BCS Champion LSU Tigers are highlighted in gold.