Final OAF ranking (& ratings) for the 1997 college football season:
| Rank | Team Name | Rating | Record | AP | ESPN/USA Today | Bowl Game Results |
| 1 | NEBRASKA | 120.5806 | 13-0 | 2 | 1 | Beat Tennessee 42-17 |
| 2 | TENNESSEE | 110.0328 | 11-2 | 7 | 8 | Lost to Nebraska |
| 3 | MICHIGAN | 104.4349 | 12-0 | 1 | 2 | Beat Washington State 21-16 |
| 4 | FLORIDA | 99.5798 | 10-2 | 4 | 6 | Beat Penn State 21-6 |
| 5 | FLORIDA STATE | 99.2563 | 11-1 | 3 | 3 | Beat Ohio State 31-14 |
| 6 | UCLA | 89.7995 | 10-2 | 10 | 10 | Beat Texas A+M 29-23 |
| 7 | NORTH CAROLINA | 89.5398 | 11-1 | 6 | 4 | Beat Virginia Tech 42-3 |
| 8 | GEORGIA | 89.4973 | 10-2 | 10 | 10 | Beat Wisconsin 33-6 |
| 9 | AUBURN | 86.9484 | 9-3 | 11 | 11 | Beat Clemson 21-17 |
| 10 | KANSAS STATE | 84.2344 | 11-1 | 8 | 7 | Beat Syracuse 35-18 |
| 11 | LSU | 78.1579 | 9-3 | 13 | 13 | Beat Notre Dame 27-8 |
| 12 | WASHINGTON STATE | 77.1062 | 10-2 | 9 | 9 | Lost to Michigan |
| 13 | WASHINGTON | 75.3394 | 8-4 | 18 | 18 | Beat Michigan State 51-23 |
| 14 | ARIZONA STATE | 73.6352 | 9-3 | 14 | 14 | Beat Iowa 17-7 |
| 15 | MISSISSIPPI | 73.5665 | 8-4 | 22 | 22 | Beat Marshall 34-31 |
| 16 | ARIZONA | 73.4303 | 7-5 | 26 | 32 | Beat New Mexico 20-14 |
| 17 | OREGON | 72.7345 | 7-5 | 27 | 30 | Beat Air Force 41-13 |
| 18 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 72.3393 | 7-4 | 33 | 33 | No Bowl Game |
| 19 | OHIO STATE | 69.9381 | 10-3 | 12 | 12 | Lost to Florida State |
| 20 | USC | 69.6851 | ||||
| 21 | NOTRE DAME | 68.5125 | ||||
| 22 | ARKANSAS | 66.7533 | ||||
| 23 | STANFORD | 65.1359 | ||||
| 24 | PENN STATE | 64.3497 | ||||
| 25 | SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI | 63.8007 | ||||
| 26 | LOUISIANA TECH | 62.2866 | ||||
| 27 | ALABAMA | 61.4376 | ||||
| 28 | MICHIGAN STATE | 61.1486 | ||||
| 29 | CLEMSON | 60.2789 | ||||
| 30 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 59.5761 | ||||
| 31 | KENTUCKY | 59.2414 | ||||
| 32 | GEORGIA TECH | 57.7347 | ||||
| 33 | PURDUE | 57.6770 | ||||
| 34 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE | 55.8820 | ||||
| 35 | VIRGINIA | 54.7936 | ||||
| 36 | WISCONSIN | 54.1587 | ||||
| 37 | NORTHWESTERN | 53.5956 | ||||
| 38 | SYRACUSE | 53.5088 | ||||
| 39 | IOWA | 53.2781 | ||||
| 40 | WAKE FOREST | 52.3762 | ||||
| 41 | CALIFORNIA | 51.0834 | ||||
| 42 | TEXAS A+M | 50.1406 | ||||
| 43 | COLORADO STATE | 49.8592 | ||||
| 44 | COLORADO | 49.5227 | ||||
| 45 | MISSOURI | 49.1449 | ||||
| 46 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 47.4889 | ||||
| 47 | TEXAS TECH | 46.6889 | ||||
| 48 | MARSHALL | 46.1606 | ||||
| 49 | OKLAHOMA | 46.0614 | ||||
| 50 | EAST CAROLINA | 45.6009 | ||||
| 51 | TULANE | 45.3965 | ||||
| 52 | MIAMI (O) | 45.1758 | ||||
| 53 | CINCINNATI | 44.5051 | ||||
| 54 | CENTRAL FLORIDA | 44.4733 | ||||
| 55 | WESTERN MICHIGAN |