College football rankings: Week 6, 2021

By Kevin Kelley -

College football rankings for week 6 of the 2021 season have been released. Alabama remains the top-ranked team, while Iowa moved into third place.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (5-0) moved up two spots to 3rd in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll after they defeated the Maryland Terrapins 51-14 on the road.

The Cincinnati Bearcats also moved up two spots to No. 5 in the AP Poll following their 24-13 victory over then 9th-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend. Cincinnati also moved up two spots to No. 6 in the Coaches Poll.

Alabama and Georgia remain ranked first and second in both polls, respectively. Iowa (3), Penn State (4), and Cincinnati (5) round out the top five in the AP Poll, while Iowa (3), Penn State (4), and Oklahoma (5) complete the top five in the Coaches Poll.

Baylor, Fresno State, Texas A&M, and UCLA each dropped out of both polls following losses on Saturday. Additionally, the Clemson Tigers fell out of the AP Poll after slipping by Boston College 19-13. This is the first time Clemson is out of the AP Poll since the 2014 season.

Below is the full AP Poll and USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll for Week 6 of the 2021 season (first-place votes in parentheses). The STATS Perform FCS Top 25 and FCS Coaches Poll will be announced on Monday.

AP Poll – Week 6

1. Alabama (53)
2. Georgia (9)
3. Iowa
4. Penn State
5. Cincinnati
6. Oklahoma
7. Ohio State
8. Oregon
9. Michigan
10. BYU
11. Michigan State
12. Oklahoma State
13. Arkansas
14. NotreDame
15. Coastal Carolina
16. Kentucky
17. Ole Miss
18. Auburn
19. Wake Forest
20. Florida
21. Texas
22. Arizona State
23. NC State
24. SMU
25. San Diego State

Others receiving votes: Clemson 96, Texas A&M 41, Oregon State 27, Baylor 24, Mississippi State 18, Virginia Tech 13, Stanford 11, UTSA 10, Pittsburgh 6, Fresno State 5, Texas Tech 4, Western Michigan 3, Kansas State 2, Appalachian State 2, Boston College 1, UCLA 1

Dropped from rankings: Texas A&M 15, Fresno State 18, UCLA 20, Baylor 21, Clemson 25

AFCA Coaches Poll – Week 6

1. Alabama (63)
2. Georgia (2)
3. Iowa
4. Penn State
5. Oklahoma
6. Cincinnati
7. Ohio State
8. Michigan
9. Oregon
10. BYU
11. Michigan State
12. Oklahoma State
13. Notre Dame
14. Kentucky
15. Coastal Carolina
16. Arkansas
17. Ole Miss
18. Florida
19. Auburn
20. Wake Forest
21. Clemson
22. NC State
23. Texas
24. SMU
25. Arizona State

Others receiving votes: Texas A&M 105, San Diego State 103, Baylor 40, Pittsburgh 34, Oregon State 27, Iowa State 27, Virginia Tech 24, Boston College 14, UTSA 13, Appalachian State 11, Fresno State 8, Liberty 7, Mississippi State 6, North Carolina 5, Maryland 5, Western Michigan 2, Texas Tech 2, Nevada 1, Louisiana 1

Dropped from rankings: Texas A&M 13, UCLA 20, Fresno State 21, Baylor 24

Stats Perform FCS Top 25 – Week 6

1. Sam Houston (29)
2. South Dakota State (15)
3. James Madison (6)
4. Eastern Washington
5. North Dakota State
6. Montana
7. UC Davis
8. Southern Illinois
9. Delaware
10. Montana State
11. Villanova
12. ETSU
13. North Dakota
14. Southeastern Louisiana
15. Missouri State
16. Northern Iowa
17. Kennesaw State
18. Rhode Island
19. Weber State
20. UIW
21. UT Martin
22. New Hampshire
23. Stephen F. Austin
24. Jacksonville State
25. Nicholls

Others receiving votes: VMI 58, Princeton 53, South Dakota 42, Monmouth 42, Mercer 41, Duquesne 38, Central Arkansas 35, Chattanooga 33, Murray State 33, Jackson State 27, Harvard 27, Prairie View A&M 7, Eastern Kentucky 6, William & Mary 4

Dropped from rankings: VMI 18, Richmond 22

FCS Coaches Poll – Week 6

1. Sam Houston
2. James Madison
3. South Dakota State
4. Eastern Washington
5. North Dakota State
6. Montana
7. Southern Illinois
8. UC Davis
9. Villanova
10. Delaware
11. Montana State
12. Northern Iowa
13. East Tennessee State
14. Southeastern Louisiana
15. North Dakota
16. Missouri State
17. Kennesaw State
18. Weber State
19. Chattanooga
20. Rhode Island
21. UT Martin
22t. Harvard
22t. Jacksonville State
24. Princeton
25. Monmouth

Others receiving votes: Central Arkansas 38, New Hampshire 37, Eastern Kentucky 23, Mercer 22, South Dakota 20, Nicholls 19, Stephen F. Austin 19, UIW 16, Jackson St. 15, Holy Cross 14, Yale 12, Abilene Christian 10, VMI 10, Murray St. 9, Austin Peay 7, Duquesne 6, Florida A&M 5, William & Mary 4, Elon 3, North Carolina A&T 3, Richmond 3, Charleston Southern 2

Dropped from rankings: Richmond 21, VMI 22, Holy Cross 24t

Comments (3)

@Kevin Kelley, Just curious about the Coaches Poll. Do you know when the 65 coaches fill out their rankings for the poll and what factors they use in the rankings (i.e. just the eye test, what they hear, or game highlights)?

@KevinKelley,

Dan-ke for the STATS Perform 1AA Top 25 Poll.

I have so much more Fun following 2 Top 25 Polls than 1.
By this time in Dec. ’21 I’ll know who the 32 Teams are in the Championship FB Bracket.

Best Regards,