AP Polls
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Final | 1 | Tennessee | 1 | 139 | SEC | |
| 11 | Final | 2 | Michigan State | 2 | 104 | Ind | |
| 11 | Final | 3 | Maryland | 3 | 18 | Southern | |
| 11 | Final | 4 | Illinois | 4 | 10 | Western | |
| 11 | Final | 5 | Georgia Tech | 6 | 1 | 8 | SEC |
| 11 | Final | 6 | Princeton | 5 | 1 | 3 | Ind |
| 11 | Final | 7 | Stanford | 8 | 1 | 1 | PCC |
| 11 | Final | 8 | Wisconsin | 7 | 1 | 10 | Western |
| 11 | Final | 9 | Baylor | 9 | SWC | ||
| 11 | Final | 10 | Oklahoma | 10 | 4 | Big 7 | |
| 11 | Final | 11 | Texas Christian | 11 | SWC | ||
| 11 | Final | 12 | California | 12 | 2 | PCC | |
| 11 | Final | 13 | Virginia | 13 | 5 | Ind | |
| 11 | Final | 14 | San Francisco | 14 | 2 | Ind | |
| 11 | Final | 15 | Kentucky | 17 | 2 | SEC | |
| 11 | Final | 16 | Boston University | 2 | Ind | ||
| 11 | Final | 17 | UCLA | 15 | 2 | PCC | |
| 11 | Final | 18 | Washington State | 18 | PCC | ||
| 11 | Final | 19 | Clemson | Southern | |||
| 11 | Final | 19 | Holy Cross | 19 | 1 | Ind | |
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 1 | Tennessee (9-0-0) | 1 | 92 | SEC | |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 2 | Michigan State (9-0-0) | 2 | 34 | Ind | |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 3 | Maryland (9-0-0) | 4 | 1 | 18 | Southern |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 4 | Illinois (8-0-1) | 6 | 2 | 4 | Western |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 5 | Princeton (9-0-0) | 5 | 4 | Ind | |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 6 | Georgia Tech (9-0-1) | 7 | 1 | 1 | SEC |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 7 | Wisconsin (7-1-1) | 8 | 1 | 5 | Western |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 8 | Stanford (9-1-0) | 3 | 5 | 1 | PCC |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 9 | Baylor (7-1-1) | 10 | 1 | SWC | |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 10 | Oklahoma (7-2-0) | 12 | 2 | 2 | Big 7 |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 11 | Texas Christian (5-4-0) | SWC | |||
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 12 | California (8-2-0) | 19 | 7 | 3 | PCC |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 13 | Virginia (8-1-0) | 15 | 2 | 1 | Ind |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 14 | San Francisco (9-0-0) | 13 | 1 | Ind | |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 15 | UCLA (5-3-1) | PCC | |||
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 16 | Texas (7-2-0) | 14 | 2 | SWC | |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 17 | Kentucky (7-4-0) | 9 | 8 | SEC | |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 18 | Washington State (7-3-0) | 17 | 1 | PCC | |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 19 | Holy Cross (8-1-0) | 16 | 3 | Ind | |
| 10 | 1951-11-26 | 20 | USC (7-2-0) | 11 | 9 | PCC | |
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 1 | Tennessee (8-0-0) | 2 | 1 | 60 | SEC |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 2 | Michigan State (8-0-0) | 1 | 1 | 38 | Ind |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 3 | Stanford (9-0-0) | 4 | 1 | 18 | PCC |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 4 | Maryland (8-0-0) | 5 | 1 | 26 | Southern |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 5 | Princeton (8-0-0) | 6 | 1 | 8 | Ind |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 6 | Illinois (7-0-1) | 3 | 3 | 2 | Western |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 7 | Georgia Tech (8-0-1) | 7 | 2 | SEC | |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 8 | Wisconsin (6-1-1) | 8 | 3 | Western | |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 9 | Kentucky (7-3-0) | 9 | 4 | SEC | |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 10 | Baylor (6-1-1) | 10 | SWC | ||
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 11 | USC (7-1-0) | 11 | PCC | ||
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 12 | Oklahoma (6-2-0) | 12 | Big 7 | ||
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 13 | San Francisco (8-0-0) | 14 | 1 | Ind | |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 14 | Texas (7-2-0) | 15 | 1 | SWC | |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 15 | Virginia (7-1-0) | 1 | Ind | ||
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 16 | Holy Cross (7-1-0) | 1 | Ind | ||
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 17 | Washington State (6-3-0) | 17 | PCC | ||
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 18 | Rice (5-3-0) | 19 | 1 | SWC | |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 19 | California (7-2-0) | 16 | 3 | PCC | |
| 9 | 1951-11-19 | 20 | Bucknell | ||||
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 1 | Michigan State (7-0-0) | 5 | 4 | 55 | Ind |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 2 | Tennessee (7-0-0) | 1 | 1 | 42 | SEC |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 3 | Illinois (7-0-0) | 2 | 1 | 20 | Western |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 4 | Stanford (8-0-0) | 7 | 3 | 12 | PCC |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 5 | Maryland (7-0-0) | 3 | 2 | 16 | Southern |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 6 | Princeton (7-0-0) | 4 | 2 | 6 | Ind |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 7 | Georgia Tech (7-0-1) | 8 | 1 | SEC | |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 8 | Wisconsin (5-1-1) | 9 | 1 | 2 | Western |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 9 | Kentucky (6-3-0) | 12 | 3 | 4 | SEC |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 10 | Baylor (5-1-1) | 16 | 6 | SWC | |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 11 | USC (7-1-0) | 6 | 5 | PCC | |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 12 | Oklahoma (5-2-0) | 14 | 2 | 1 | Big 7 |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 13 | Texas Christian (4-3-0) | 13 | SWC | ||
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 14 | San Francisco (7-0-0) | 15 | 1 | Ind | |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 15 | Texas (6-2-0) | 10 | 5 | SWC | |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 16 | California (6-2-0) | 17 | 1 | PCC | |
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 17 | Washington State (5-3-0) | 17 | PCC | ||
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 18 | UCLA (4-3-0) | PCC | |||
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 19 | Rice (4-3-0) | SWC | |||
| 8 | 1951-11-12 | 20 | Cincinnati | ||||
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 1 | Tennessee (6-0-0) | 1 | 60 | SEC | |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 2 | Illinois (6-0-0) | 3 | 1 | 29 | Western |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 3 | Maryland (6-0-0) | 4 | 1 | 21 | Southern |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 4 | Princeton (6-0-0) | 6 | 2 | 6 | Ind |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 5 | Michigan State (6-0-0) | 2 | 3 | 12 | Ind |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 6 | USC (7-0-0) | 7 | 1 | 6 | PCC |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 7 | Stanford (7-0-0) | 11 | 4 | 8 | PCC |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 8 | Georgia Tech (6-0-1) | 5 | 3 | 1 | SEC |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 9 | Wisconsin (4-1-1) | 10 | 1 | 3 | Western |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 10 | Texas (6-1-0) | 12 | 2 | SWC | |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 11 | Notre Dame (5-1-0) | 13 | 2 | 1 | Ind |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 12 | Kentucky (5-3-0) | 14 | 2 | 3 | SEC |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 13 | Texas Christian (4-3-0) | SWC | |||
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 14 | Oklahoma (4-2-0) | 17 | 3 | 1 | Big 7 |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 15 | San Francisco (7-0-0) | 20 | 5 | Ind | |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 16 | Baylor (4-1-1) | 8 | 8 | SWC | |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 17 | California (5-2-0) | 9 | 8 | PCC | |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 17 | Washington State (4-3-0) | 16 | 1 | PCC | |
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 19 | Pacific (6-1-0) | 1 | Ind | ||
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 20 | Arkansas (4-3-0) | SWC | |||
| 7 | 1951-11-05 | 20 | Ohio State (3-2-1) | Western | |||
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 1 | Tennessee (5-0-0) | 1 | 59 | SEC | |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 2 | Michigan State (6-0-0) | 2 | 25 | Ind | |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 3 | Illinois (5-0-0) | 4 | 1 | 15 | Western |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 4 | Maryland (5-0-0) | 5 | 1 | 22 | Southern |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 5 | Georgia Tech (6-0-0) | 3 | 2 | 9 | SEC |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 6 | Princeton (5-0-0) | 8 | 2 | 14 | Ind |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 7 | USC (6-0-0) | 6 | 1 | 7 | PCC |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 8 | Baylor (4-0-1) | 7 | 1 | SWC | |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 9 | California (5-1-0) | 9 | PCC | ||
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 10 | Wisconsin (3-1-1) | 14 | 4 | 2 | Western |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 11 | Stanford (6-0-0) | 11 | PCC | ||
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 12 | Texas (5-1-0) | 10 | 2 | SWC | |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 13 | Notre Dame (4-1-0) | 15 | 2 | Ind | |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 14 | Kentucky (4-3-0) | 17 | 3 | 1 | SEC |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 15 | Michigan (3-2-0) | Western | |||
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 16 | Washington State (4-2-0) | 18 | 2 | PCC | |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 17 | Oklahoma (3-2-0) | 1 | Big 7 | ||
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 18 | Texas A&M (4-1-1) | 16 | 2 | SWC | |
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 19 | Miami (FL) (4-1-0) | Ind | |||
| 6 | 1951-10-29 | 20 | San Francisco (6-0-0) | 20 | Ind | ||
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 1 | Tennessee (4-0-0) | 2 | 1 | 70 | SEC |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 2 | Michigan State (5-0-0) | 3 | 1 | 28 | Ind |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 3 | Georgia Tech (5-0-0) | 5 | 2 | 16 | SEC |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 4 | Illinois (4-0-0) | 8 | 4 | 12 | Western |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 5 | Maryland (4-0-0) | 7 | 2 | 13 | Southern |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 6 | USC (5-0-0) | 11 | 5 | 13 | PCC |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 7 | Baylor (4-0-0) | 10 | 3 | 2 | SWC |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 8 | Princeton (4-0-0) | 9 | 1 | 2 | Ind |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 9 | California (4-1-0) | 1 | 8 | 1 | PCC |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 10 | Texas (4-1-0) | 4 | 6 | SWC | |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 11 | Stanford (5-0-0) | 13 | 2 | 1 | PCC |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 12 | Cornell (4-0-0) | 14 | 2 | 1 | Ind |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 13 | Northwestern (4-0-0) | 18 | 5 | Western | |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 14 | Wisconsin (2-1-1) | Western | |||
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 15 | Notre Dame (3-1-0) | Ind | |||
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 16 | Texas A&M (4-1-0) | 6 | 10 | 1 | SWC |
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 17 | Kentucky (3-3-0) | 1 | SEC | ||
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 18 | Washington State (3-2-0) | PCC | |||
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 19 | Arkansas (3-2-0) | SWC | |||
| 5 | 1951-10-22 | 20 | San Francisco (5-0-0) | Ind | |||
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 1 | California (4-0-0) | 2 | 1 | 50 | PCC |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 2 | Tennessee (3-0-0) | 3 | 1 | 26 | SEC |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 3 | Michigan State (4-0-0) | 1 | 2 | 16 | Ind |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 4 | Texas (4-0-0) | 6 | 2 | 6 | SWC |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 5 | Georgia Tech (4-0-0) | 8 | 3 | 12 | SEC |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 6 | Texas A&M (4-0-0) | 4 | 2 | 8 | SWC |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 7 | Maryland (3-0-0) | 10 | 3 | 14 | Southern |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 8 | Illinois (3-0-0) | 7 | 1 | 3 | Western |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 9 | Princeton (3-0-0) | 13 | 4 | 1 | Ind |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 10 | Baylor (3-0-0) | 12 | 2 | SWC | |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 11 | USC (4-0-0) | 14 | 3 | PCC | |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 12 | Villanova (3-0-0) | Ind | |||
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 13 | Stanford (4-0-0) | 19 | 6 | PCC | |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 14 | Cornell (3-0-0) | 17 | 3 | Ind | |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 15 | SMU (2-2-0) | SWC | |||
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 16 | Pacific (4-0-0) | 20 | 4 | 1 | Ind |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 17 | Ohio State (1-1-1) | 9 | 8 | Western | |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 18 | Northwestern (3-0-0) | Western | |||
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 19 | Oklahoma (1-2-0) | 11 | 8 | Big 7 | |
| 4 | 1951-10-15 | 20 | Washington (3-1-0) | PCC | |||
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 1 | Michigan State (3-0-0) | 1 | 42 | Ind | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 2 | California (3-0-0) | 2 | 36 | PCC | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 3 | Tennessee (2-0-0) | 3 | 18 | SEC | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 4 | Texas A&M (3-0-0) | 10 | 6 | 3 | SWC |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 5 | Notre Dame (2-0-0) | 5 | 4 | Ind | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 6 | Texas (3-0-0) | 6 | 4 | SWC | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 7 | Illinois (2-0-0) | 8 | 1 | Western | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 8 | Georgia Tech (3-0-0) | 11 | 3 | 3 | SEC |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 9 | Ohio State (1-1-0) | 7 | 2 | Western | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 10 | Maryland (2-0-0) | 9 | 1 | 1 | Southern |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 11 | Oklahoma (1-1-0) | 4 | 7 | Big 7 | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 12 | Baylor (2-0-0) | 19 | 7 | SWC | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 13 | Princeton (2-0-0) | 14 | 1 | Ind | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 14 | USC (3-0-0) | PCC | |||
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 15 | Holy Cross (2-0-0) | Ind | |||
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 16 | Clemson (3-0-0) | 18 | 2 | Southern | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 17 | Cornell (2-0-0) | Ind | |||
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 18 | Oregon State (2-1-0) | 15 | 3 | PCC | |
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 19 | Stanford (3-0-0) | PCC | |||
| 3 | 1951-10-08 | 20 | Pacific (3-0-0) | 1 | Ind | ||
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 1 | Michigan State (2-0-0) | 2 | 1 | 37 | Ind |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 2 | California (2-0-0) | 5 | 3 | 22 | PCC |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 3 | Tennessee (1-0-0) | 1 | 2 | 27 | SEC |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 4 | Oklahoma (1-0-0) | 4 | 18 | Big 7 | |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 5 | Notre Dame (1-0-0) | 14 | 9 | 9 | Ind |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 6 | Texas (2-0-0) | 11 | 5 | 6 | SWC |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 7 | Ohio State (1-0-0) | 3 | 4 | 1 | Western |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 8 | Illinois (1-0-0) | 10 | 2 | Western | |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 9 | Maryland (1-0-0) | 16 | 7 | 4 | Southern |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 10 | Texas A&M (2-0-0) | 6 | 4 | SWC | |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 11 | Georgia Tech (2-0-0) | 4 | SEC | ||
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 12 | Washington (2-0-0) | 8 | 4 | 2 | PCC |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 13 | Georgia (2-0-0) | 1 | SEC | ||
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 14 | Princeton (1-0-0) | 18 | 4 | Ind | |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 15 | Oregon State (1-1-0) | 1 | PCC | ||
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 16 | Duke (2-0-0) | Southern | |||
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 17 | Kentucky (1-2-0) | 6 | 11 | SEC | |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 18 | Clemson (2-0-0) | 1 | Southern | ||
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 19 | Baylor (1-0-0) | 13 | 6 | SWC | |
| 2 | 1951-10-01 | 20 | Kansas (2-0-0) | Big 7 | |||
| Wk | Date | Rk | School | Prev | Chng | 1st | Conf |
| 1 | Preseason | 1 | Tennessee | NA | — | 60 | SEC |
| 1 | Preseason | 2 | Michigan State | NA | — | 18 | Ind |
| 1 | Preseason | 3 | Ohio State | NA | — | 8 | Western |
| 1 | Preseason | 4 | Oklahoma | NA | — | 16 | Big 7 |
| 1 | Preseason | 5 | California | NA | — | 3 | PCC |
| 1 | Preseason | 6 | Kentucky | NA | — | 1 | SEC |
| 1 | Preseason | 6 | Texas A&M | NA | — | SWC | |
| 1 | Preseason | 8 | Washington | NA | — | 3 | PCC |
| 1 | Preseason | 9 | Alabama | NA | — | 2 | SEC |
| 1 | Preseason | 10 | Illinois | NA | — | 2 | Western |
| 1 | Preseason | 11 | Texas | NA | — | 1 | SWC |
| 1 | Preseason | 12 | Nebraska | NA | — | Big 7 | |
| 1 | Preseason | 13 | Baylor | NA | — | SWC | |
| 1 | Preseason | 14 | Notre Dame | NA | — | 1 | Ind |
| 1 | Preseason | 15 | Wisconsin | NA | — | Western | |
| 1 | Preseason | 16 | Maryland | NA | — | Southern | |
| 1 | Preseason | 17 | Michigan | NA | — | Western | |
| 1 | Preseason | 18 | Princeton | NA | — | Ind | |
| 1 | Preseason | 19 | Pennsylvania | NA | — | Ind | |
| 1 | Preseason | 20 | Cornell | NA | — | Ind |
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