Final OAF ranking (& ratings) for the 2001 college football season:
| Rank | Team Name | Rating | Record | AP | ESPN/USA Today | Bowl Game Results |
| 1 | MIAMI (F) | 125.6768 | 12-0 | 1 | 1 | Beat Nebraska 37-14 |
| 2 | FLORIDA | 74.4306 | 10-2 | 3 | 3 | Beat Maryland 56-23 |
| 3 | TEXAS | 73.5066 | 11-2 | 5 | 5 | Beat Washington 47-43 |
| 4 | LSU | 69.9081 | 10-3 | 7 | 8 | Beat Illinois 47-34 |
| 5 | TENNESSEE | 69.2872 | 11-2 | 4 | 4 | Beat Michigan 45-17 |
| 6 | SYRACUSE | 68.8312 | 10-3 | 14 | 14 | Beat Kansas State 26-3 |
| 7 | NEBRASKA | 68.7071 | 11-2 | 8 | 7 | Lost to Miami (F) |
| 8 | OREGON | 68.0244 | 11-1 | 2 | 2 | Beat Colorado 38-16 |
| 9 | OKLAHOMA | 67.9425 | 11-2 | 6 | 6 | Beat Arkansas 10-3 |
| 10 | COLORADO | 67.3427 | 10-3 | 9 | 9 | Lost to Oregon |
| 11 | MARYLAND | 66.9025 | 10-2 | 11 | 10 | Lost to Florida |
| 12 | FLORIDA STATE | 64.2587 | 8-4 | 15 | 15 | Beat Virginia Tech 30-17 |
| 13 | ILLINOIS | 62.1177 | 10-2 | 12 | 12 | Lost to LSU |
| 14 | BOSTON COLLEGE | 59.2544 | 9-4 | 21 | 23 | Beat Georgia 20-16 |
| 15 | GEORGIA | 58.9725 | 8-4 | 22 | 25 | Lost to Boston College |
| 16 | GEORGIA TECH | 57.8398 | 8-5 | 24 | 26 | Beat Stanford 24-14 |
| 17 | ARKANSAS | 57.3458 | 7-5 | 33 | 33 | Lost to Oklahoma |
| 18 | STANFORD | 57.1561 | 9-3 | 16 | 17 | Lost to Georgia Tech |
| 19 | NORTH CAROLINA | 56.5063 | 8-5 | 30 | 27 | Beat Auburn 16-10 |
| 20 | KANSAS STATE | 56.0080 | Lost to Syracuse | |||
| 21 | AUBURN | 55.5567 | Lost to North Carolina | |||
| 22 | WASHINGTON STATE | 55.0917 | ||||
| 23 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE | 55.0087 | ||||
| 24 | WASHINGTON | 54.8560 | ||||
| 25 | ALABAMA | 54.2563 | ||||
| 26 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 54.2178 | ||||
| 27 | CLEMSON | 54.1664 | ||||
| 28 | WAKE FOREST | 53.1204 | ||||
| 29 | UCLA | 53.0511 | ||||
| 30 | PITTSBURGH | 52.9031 | ||||
| 31 | IOWA STATE | 51.9485 | ||||
| 32 | MICHIGAN | 51.5042 | ||||
| 33 | MISSISSIPPI | 51.0071 | ||||
| 34 | OHIO STATE | 50.6270 | ||||
| 35 | VIRGINIA | 50.4408 | ||||
| 36 | IOWA | 50.1791 | ||||
| 37 | NOTRE DAME | 50.1432 | ||||
| 38 | VIRGINIA TECH | 50.1145 | ||||
| 39 | TEXAS A+M | 49.8711 | ||||
| 40 | MICHIGAN STATE | 49.8600 | ||||
| 41 | TEXAS TECH | 49.5094 | ||||
| 42 | PENN STATE | 49.1711 | ||||
| 43 | INDIANA | 48.6988 | ||||
| 44 | PURDUE | 47.2893 | ||||
| 45 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 47.1002 | ||||
| 46 | FRESNO STATE | 46.8288 | ||||
| 47 | OREGON STATE | 46.2889 | ||||
| 48 | MINNESOTA | 45.2961 | ||||
| 49 | WISCONSIN | 44.6123 | ||||
| 50 | USC | 44.5187 | ||||
| 51 | TOLEDO | 43.4956 | ||||
| 52 | MARSHALL | 42.7991 | ||||
| 53 | BOISE STATE | 42.6485 | ||||
| 54 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 42.1443 | ||||
| 55 | MISSOURI |