1971 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
(UPI poll not conducted after bowl games.)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP |
| 1 | Nebraska | 13 | 0 | 0 | 7.5249 | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6.0217 | 2 |
| 3 | Alabama | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.8566 | 4 |
| 4 | Georgia | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4.7868 | 7 |
| 5 | Auburn | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4.7057 | 12 |
| 6 | Colorado | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.5113 | 3 |
| 7 | PennState | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4.4734 | 5 |
| 8 | ArizonaState | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4.3883 | 8 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.1132 | 9 |
| 10 | Mississippi | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3.9611 | 15 |
| 11 | Toledo | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3.9177 | 14 |
| 12 | Michigan | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3.8884 | 6 |
| 13 | LouisianaState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.1518 | 11 |
| 14 | NotreDame | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3.1266 | 13 |
| 15 | Dartmouth | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2.5653 | NR |
| 16 | Houston | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.5116 | 17 |
| 17 | Texas | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.2274 | 18 |
| 18 | Cornell | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2.2225 | NR |
| 19 | Stanford | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.0933 | 10 |
| 20 | SouthernCalifornia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2.0272 | 20 |
| 21 | Washington | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.0232 | 19 |
| 22 | IowaState | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.9632 | |
| 23 | BostonCollege | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1.8413 | |
| 24 | UtahState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.6028 | |
| 25 | NorthCarolina | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1.6019 | |
| 26 | Arkansas | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1.4784 | 16 |
| 27 | AirForce | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1.1629 | |
| 28 | GeorgiaTech | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.0913 | |
| 29 | Oregon | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.0128 | |
| 30 | OhioState | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.9916 | |
| 31 | OregonState | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.9646 | |
| 32 | California | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.9040 | |
| 33 | KansasState | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.8794 | |
| 34 | OklahomaState | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0.8412 | |
| 35 | FloridaState | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0.8245 | |
| 36 | Miami(Ohio) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.7995 | |
| 37 | Florida | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.7547 | |
| 38 | Army | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.7373 | |
| 39 | TexasChristian | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.6597 | |
| 40 | NewMexico | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0.6542 | |
| 41 | SouthCarolina | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.6197 | |
| 42 | Northwestern | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0.6132 | |
| 43 | MichiganState | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.6056 | |
| 44 | Temple | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0.5988 | |
| 45 | WestVirginia | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0.5885 | |
| 46 | Duke | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.5194 | |
| 47 | WesternMichigan | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.4960 | |
| 48 | WashingtonState | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.4837 | |
| 49 | Illinois | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.4540 | |
| 50 | Kansas | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.4497 | |
| 51 | SouthernMississippi | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.2897 | |
| 52 | Columbia | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0.2795 | |
| 53 | TexasA&M | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.2222 | |
| 54 | SanJoseState | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0.2196 | |
| 55 | Idaho | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0.1839 | |
| 56 | Memphis | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.0901 | |
| 57 | Wyoming |