1974 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | Oklahoma | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6.3366 | 1 | Prob. |
| 2 | Alabama | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.6501 | 5 | 2 |
| 3 | Michigan | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5.0538 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | SouthernCalifornia | 10 | 1 | 1 | 4.9549 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Miami(Ohio) | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4.6559 | 10 | 10 |
| 6 | OhioState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.4802 | 4 | 3 |
| 7 | NotreDame | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.4387 | 6 | 4 |
| 8 | Auburn | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.3989 | 8 | 6 |
| 9 | PennState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3.7135 | 7 | 7 |
| 10 | NorthCarolinaState | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3.3868 | 11 | 9 |
| 11 | Nebraska | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.1233 | 9 | 8 |
| 12 | MississippiState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.8418 | 17T | 17 |
| 13 | MichiganState | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2.7711 | 12 | 18 |
| 14 | Yale | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2.7478 | NR | NR |
| 15 | TexasA&M | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.6720 | 16 | 15T |
| 16 | Tennessee | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2.6161 | 20 | 15T |
| 17 | Temple | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2.2570 | ||
| 18 | Arizona | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.2445 | ||
| 19 | Vanderbilt | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2.2057 | ||
| 20 | Maryland | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.1688 | 13 | 13 |
| 21 | Texas | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.1378 | 17T | |
| 22 | Baylor | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.1253 | 14 | 14 |
| 23 | Harvard | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2.0643 | ||
| 24 | UCLA | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2.0589 | ||
| 25 | Wisconsin | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.0545 | ||
| 26 | Florida | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.9890 | 15 | 12 |
| 27 | Arkansas | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1.9302 | ||
| 28 | Missouri | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.8762 | ||
| 29 | California | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1.8740 | ||
| 30 | LouisianaState | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1.7024 | ||
| 31 | Clemson | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.6729 | ||
| 32 | Tulsa | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.6716 | 19 | |
| 33 | Stanford | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1.6293 | ||
| 34 | OklahomaState | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.6281 | ||
| 35 | Georgia | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.6226 | ||
| 36 | Pittsburgh | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.5651 | ||
| 37 | SouthernMethodist | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1.5361 | ||
| 38 | TexasTech | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1.5015 | ||
| 39 | Houston | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1.4766 | 19 | 11 |
| 40 | SanDiegoState | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1.4708 | ||
| 41 | Colorado | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.4419 | ||
| 42 | Kentucky | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.4333 | ||
| 43 | Lamar | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1.4093 | ||
| 44 | NorthCarolina | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.3928 | ||
| 45 | Illinois | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1.3620 | ||
| 46 | GeorgiaTech | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.3350 | ||
| 47 | UtahState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.2859 | ||
| 48 | Duke | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.2665 | ||
| 49 | BostonCollege | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.2624 | ||
| 50 | Purdue | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1.2320 |