1973 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
(UPI poll not conducted after the bowl games.)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP |
| 1 | NotreDame | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6.4391 | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 10 | 0 | 1 | 6.3227 | 3 |
| 3 | PennState | 12 | 0 | 0 | 6.0975 | 5 |
| 4 | OhioState | 10 | 0 | 1 | 5.3905 | 2 |
| 5 | Alabama | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.3084 | 4 |
| 6 | Miami(Ohio) | 11 | 0 | 0 | 5.2323 | 15 |
| 7 | Michigan | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4.9159 | 6 |
| 8 | TexasTech | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4.5162 | 11 |
| 9 | Houston | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4.2832 | 9T |
| 10 | Nebraska | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3.8920 | 7 |
| 11 | ArizonaState | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3.5461 | 9T |
| 12 | SouthernCalifornia | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3.5390 | 8 |
| 13 | SanDiegoState | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3.3100 | NR |
| 14 | UCLA | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3.2026 | 12 |
| 15 | Texas | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.0604 | 14 |
| 16 | NorthCarolinaState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.8434 | 16 |
| 17 | LouisianaState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.7953 | 13 |
| 18 | Kent | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.5214 | NR |
| 19 | Tulane | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.4750 | 20T |
| 20 | Kansas | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2.1034 | 18 |
| 21 | EastCarolina | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.0877 | NR |
| 22 | Missouri | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.0060 | 17 |
| 23 | Richmond | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1.7429 | NR |
| 24 | Tennessee | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.7363 | 19 |
| 25 | OklahomaState | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1.6618 | |
| 26 | Temple | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1.6323 | |
| 27 | Auburn | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.5307 | |
| 28 | Colorado | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.4867 | |
| 29 | Minnesota | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.4492 | |
| 30 | Georgia | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1.4353 | |
| 31 | Memphis | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.4115 | |
| 32 | Florida | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.4049 | |
| 33 | Arizona | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.3599 | |
| 34 | Miami(Florida) | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.2990 | |
| 35 | Mississippi | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.2465 | |
| 36 | KansasState | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.2449 | |
| 37 | Stanford | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.2007 | |
| 38 | Maryland | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.1372 |
20T |
| 39 | SouthCarolina | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.0935 | |
| 40 | Rice | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.0711 | |
| 41 | IowaState | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1.0492 | |
| 42 | MississippiState | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0.9049 | |
| 43 | SouthernMethodist | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.9043 | |
| 44 | Arkansas | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0.8704 | |
| 45 | Kentucky | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.8379 | |
| 46 | AirForce | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.8186 | |
| 47 | BowlingGreenState | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.8132 | |
| 48 | Pittsburgh | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.7825 | |
| 49 | Vanderbilt | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.6738 | |
| 50 | MichiganState | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.5679 | |
| 51 | TexasA&M | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.5187 | |
| 52 | Purdue | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.4566 | |
| 53 | Illinois | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.4152 | |
| 54 | GeorgiaTech | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.3838 | |
| 55 | WestVirginia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.3699 | |
| 56 | Harvard | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0.3547 | |
| 57 | SouthernMississippi |