Final OAF ranking (& ratings) for the 1980 college football season:
| Rank | Team Name | Rating | Record | AP | UPI | Bowl Game Results |
| 1 | GEORGIA | 113.9862 | 12-0 | 1 | 1 | Beat Notre Dame 17-10 |
| 2 | PITTSBURGH | 102.4721 | 11-1 | 2 | 2 | Beat South Carolina 37-9 |
| 3 | PENN STATE | 99.7013 | 10-2 | 8 | 8 | Beat Ohio State 31-19 |
| 4 | OKLAHOMA | 94.0571 | 10-2 | 3 | 3 | Beat Florida State 18-17 |
| 5 | FLORIDA STATE | 93.4816 | 10-2 | 5 | 5 | Lost to Oklahoma |
| 6 | NEBRASKA | 91.1803 | 10-2 | 7 | 7 | Beat Mississippi State 31-17 |
| 7 | BYU | 87.7698 | 12-1 | 12 | 11 | Beat SMU 46-45 |
| 8 | NORTH CAROLINA | 87.3551 | 11-1 | 10 | 9 | Beat Texas 16-7 |
| 9 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 86.0633 | 9-3 | 19 | NR | Lost to Nebraska |
| 10 | ALABAMA | 85.7355 | 10-2 | 6 | 8 | Beat Baylor 30-2 |
| 11 | BAYLOR | 84.4868 | 10-2 | 14 | 13 | Lost to Alabama |
| 12 | MICHIGAN | 80.5917 | 10-2 | 4 | 4 | Beat Washington 23-6 |
| 13 | MIAMI (F) | 80.0597 | 9-3 | 18 | 18 | Beat Virginia Tech 20-10 |
| 14 | FLORIDA | 78.3271 | 8-4 | NR | NR | Beat Maryland 35-20 |
| 15 | MARYLAND | 77.7515 | 8-4 | NR | NR | Lost to Florida |
| 16 | USC | 77.5090 | 8-2-1 | 11 | 12 | No Bowl Game |
| 17 | NOTRE DAME | 76.9336 | 9-2-1 | 9 | 10 | Lost to Georgia |
| 18 | LSU | 76.3687 | 7-4 | NR | NR | No Bowl Game |
| 19 | OHIO STATE | 75.5104 | 9-3 | 15 | 15 | Lost to Penn State |
| 20 | WASHINGTON | 74.6437 | 9-3 | 16 | 17 | Lost to Michigan |
| 21 | SMU | 73.3970 | 8-4 | 20 | 20 | Lost to BYU |
| 22 | PURDUE | 73.2047 | 9-3 | 17 | 16 | Beat Missouri 28-25 |
| 23 | UCLA | 72.9872 | 9-2 | 13 | 14 | No Bowl Game |
| 24 | ARIZONA STATE | 72.6814 | ||||
| 25 | MISSOURI | 72.6291 | ||||
| 26 | HOUSTON | 71.4238 | ||||
| 27 | OREGON | 69.9765 | ||||
| 28 | ARKANSAS | 69.5849 | ||||
| 29 | RICE | 69.4803 | ||||
| 30 | TEXAS A+M | 68.7776 | ||||
| 31 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 68.4018 | ||||
| 32 | TEXAS | 68.1934 | ||||
| 33 | TEXAS TECH | 67.2529 | ||||
| 34 | NAVY | 67.2049 | ||||
| 35 | STANFORD | 65.7830 | ||||
| 36 | TULANE | 65.3916 | ||||
| 37 | CLEMSON | 65.0664 | ||||
| 38 | AUBURN | 64.9329 | ||||
| 39 | GEORGIA TECH | 63.8352 | ||||
| 40 | BOSTON COLLEGE | 63.8098 | ||||
| 41 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE | 62.7273 | ||||
| 42 | CALIFORNIA | 62.6118 | ||||
| 43 | ARIZONA | 61.8091 | ||||
| 44 | SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI | 61.7427 | ||||
| 45 | LOUISVILLE | 61.0911 | ||||
| 46 | HAWAII | 60.7552 | ||||
| 47 | UNLV | 60.2454 | ||||
| 48 | TENNESSEE | 59.9110 | ||||
| 49 | KANSAS | 59.3100 | ||||
| 50 | SYRACUSE | 59.3031 | ||||
| 51 | MISSISSIPPI | 59.2685 | ||||
| 52 | WAKE FOREST | 58.7641 | ||||
| 53 | VIRGINIA | 58.6065 | ||||
| 54 | SAN JOSE STATE | 58.4652 | ||||
| 55 | COLORADO STATE |