1972 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
(UPI poll not conducted after the bowl games.)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP |
| 1 | SouthernCalifornia | 12 | 0 | 0 | 6.3509 | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.7507 | 2 |
| 3 | Auburn | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5.7409 | 5 |
| 4 | Texas | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5.4014 | 3 |
| 5 | Alabama | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.7736 | 7 |
| 6 | Michigan | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4.6448 | 6 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.6047 | 8 |
| 8 | NorthCarolina | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4.5667 | 12 |
| 9 | OhioState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4.2156 | 9 |
| 10 | LouisianaState | 9 | 2 | 1 | 4.0661 | 11 |
| 11 | PennState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3.4830 | 10 |
| 12 | Nebraska | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3.4516 | 4 |
| 13 | UCLA | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.1733 | 15 |
| 14 | SanDiegoState | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3.0167 | |
| 15 | Dartmouth | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2.5936 | |
| 16 | Washington | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.5638 | |
| 17 | NotreDame | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.4018 | 14 |
| 18 | Yale | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2.1086 | |
| 19 | ArizonaState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2.0561 | 13 |
| 20 | Colorado | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.8834 | 16 |
| 21 | Georgia | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.8742 | |
| 22 | Louisville | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1.7085 | 18 |
| 23 | NorthCarolinaState | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1.6852 | 17 |
| 24 | EastCarolina | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1.6321 | |
| 25 | TexasTech | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.4427 | |
| 26 | MichiganState | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1.4267 | |
| 27 | Florida | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1.4208 | |
| 28 | GeorgiaTech | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1.3735 | 20 |
| 29 | UtahState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.2763 | |
| 30 | WashingtonState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.2612 | 19 |
| 31 | Arkansas | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.2575 | |
| 32 | SouthernMethodist | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.2123 | |
| 33 | Rice | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1.0599 | |
| 34 | OklahomaState | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.0295 | |
| 35 | Missouri | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.0057 | |
| 36 | Cornell | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1.0031 | |
| 37 | Baylor | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.9886 | |
| 38 | Stanford | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.9382 | |
| 39 | Tulane | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.8732 | |
| 40 | TexasChristian | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.8178 | |
| 41 | Mississippi | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.8085 | |
| 42 | Pennsylvania | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0.7467 | |
| 43 | IowaState | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0.6263 | |
| 44 | Pacific | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0.6017 | |
| 45 | Duke | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.5836 | |
| 46 | FloridaState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0.5206 | |
| 47 | Purdue | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.4910 | |
| 48 | Army | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.4450 | |
| 49 | Houston | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.4420 | |
| 50 | Kansas | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.4361 | |
| 51 | Oregon | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.4164 | |
| 52 | VirginiaTech | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.4093 | |
| 53 | Minnesota | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.3640 | |
| 54 | WestVirginia | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0.2807 | |
| 55 | AirForce | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.2669 | |
| 56 | Miami(Florida) | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.2255 | |
| 57 | Maryland |