Final OAF ranking (& ratings) for the 1989 college football season:
| Rank | Team Name | Rating | Record | AP | UPI | Bowl Game Results |
| 1 | MIAMI (F) | 114.5537 | 11-1 | 1 | 1 | Beat Alabama 33-25 |
| 2 | NOTRE DAME | 114.1827 | 12-1 | 2 | 3 | Beat Colorado 21-6 |
| 3 | COLORADO | 113.4280 | 11-1 | 4 | 4 | Lost to Notre Dame |
| 4 | FLORIDA STATE | 109.7727 | 10-2 | 3 | 2 | Beat Nebraska 41-17 |
| 5 | AUBURN | 106.1245 | 10-2 | 6 | 6 | Beat Ohio State 31-14 |
| 6 | TENNESSEE | 105.4813 | 11-1 | 5 | 5 | Beat Arkansas 31-27 |
| 7 | ALABAMA | 103.1513 | 10-2 | 9 | 7 | Lost to Miami (F) |
| 8 | NEBRASKA | 97.2481 | 10-2 | 11 | 12 | Lost to Florida State |
| 9 | USC | 94.8782 | 9-2-1 | 8 | 9 | Beat Michigan 17-10 |
| 10 | HOUSTON | 94.3896 | 9-2 | 14 | Probation | No Bowl Game |
| 11 | ILLINOIS | 94.2666 | 10-2 | 10 | 10 | Beat Virginia 31-21 |
| 12 | MICHIGAN | 94.1235 | 10-2 | 7 | 8 | Lost to USC |
| 13 | VIRGINIA | 93.5119 | 10-3 | 18 | 15 | Lost to Illinois |
| 14 | CLEMSON | 93.3808 | 10-2 | 12 | 11 | Beat West Virginia 27-7 |
| 15 | ARKANSAS | 87.8880 | 10-2 | 13 | 13 | Lost to Tennessee |
| 16 | TEXAS TECH | 87.7383 | 9-3 | 19 | 16 | Beat Duke 49-21 |
| 17 | DUKE | 86.9836 | 8-4 | 27 | NR | Lost to Texas Tech |
| 18 | PITTSBURGH | 84.8665 | 8-3-1 | 17 | 19 | Beat Texas A+M 31-28 |
| 19 | GEORGIA TECH | 84.7906 | 7-4 | 33 | NR | No Bowl Game |
| 20 | TEXAS A+M | 84.1118 | 8-4 | 20 | 21 | Lost to Pittsburgh |
| 21 | PENN STATE | 81.8554 | 8-3-1 | 15 | 14 | Beat BYU 50-39 |
| 22 | MICHIGAN STATE | 81.2084 | 8-4 | 16 | 16 | Beat Hawaii 33-13 |
| 23 | WASHINGTON | 80.3965 | 8-4 | 23 | 20 | Beat Florida 34-7 |
| 24 | WEST VIRGINIA | 78.9130 | 8-3-1 | 21 | 21 | Lost to Clemson |
| 25 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 78.6541 | ||||
| 26 | TEXAS | 78.4682 | ||||
| 27 | VIRGINIA TECH | 77.8153 | ||||
| 28 | BAYLOR | 77.3126 | ||||
| 29 | OHIO STATE | 76.6635 | ||||
| 30 | ARIZONA | 76.5363 | ||||
| 31 | MARYLAND | 76.2484 | ||||
| 32 | OKLAHOMA | 75.8293 | ||||
| 33 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE | 75.7816 | ||||
| 34 | FLORIDA | 75.1091 | ||||
| 35 | LSU | 75.0228 | ||||
| 36 | SYRACUSE | 74.5970 | ||||
| 37 | MISSISSIPPI | 73.9280 | ||||
| 38 | GEORGIA | 73.8423 | ||||
| 39 | ARIZONA STATE | 72.9090 | ||||
| 40 | OREGON | 70.6225 | ||||
| 41 | KENTUCKY | 70.5252 | ||||
| 42 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 70.4875 | ||||
| 43 | BYU | 69.9615 | ||||
| 44 | TCU | 69.2691 | ||||
| 45 | UCLA | 68.3278 | ||||
| 46 | SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI | 67.7199 | ||||
| 47 | WASHINGTON STATE | 67.5983 | ||||
| 48 | EAST CAROLINA | 66.9652 | ||||
| 49 | AIR FORCE | 66.7865 | ||||
| 50 | MINNESOTA | 66.5705 | ||||
| 51 | AKRON | 66.3176 | ||||
| 52 | HAWAII | 66.3137 | ||||
| 53 | NORTHERN ILLINOIS | 65.8026 | ||||
| 54 | OREGON STATE | 65.4591 | ||||
| 55 | CALIFORNIA |