1977 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | Texas | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6.1223 | 4 | 5 |
| 2 | NotreDame | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.9680 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Arkansas | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.7802 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5.6272 | 6 | Prob. |
| 5 | PennState | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.5385 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | Alabama | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.3708 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.6946 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | Michigan | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.1054 | 9 | 8 |
| 9 | SanDiegoState | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3.9673 | 16 | 19T |
| 10 | Pittsburgh | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3.7773 | 8 | 7 |
| 11 | FloridaState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3.4341 | 14 | 11 |
| 12 | Nebraska | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.3509 | 12 | 10 |
| 13 | Miami(Ohio) | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3.1932 | NR | NR |
| 14 | Stanford | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.8992 | 15 | 15 |
| 15 | OhioState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.8513 | 11 | 12T |
| 16 | NorthTexas | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.8229 | NR | 16T |
| 17 | NorthCarolina | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2.5187 | 17 | 14 |
| 18 | Clemson | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2.5036 | 19 | NR |
| 19 | GramblingState | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2.4589 | NR | NR |
| 20 | BrighamYoung | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.4335 | 20 | 16T |
| 21 | SouthernCalifornia | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.4229 | 13 | 12T |
| 22 | Colorado | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2.3271 | ||
| 23 | TexasA&M | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.3081 | ||
| 24 | TennesseeState | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2.2259 | ||
| 25 | MichiganState | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2.1402 | ||
| 26 | CentralMichigan | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2.1129 | ||
| 27 | ColoradoState | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2.0504 | ||
| 28 | Houston | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.9913 | ||
| 29 | ArizonaState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1.9849 | 18 | 18 |
| 30 | Baylor | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.9444 | ||
| 31 | Washington | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.9280 | 10 | 9 |
| 32 | Colgate | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1.9218 | ||
| 33 | LouisianaTech | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1.8936 | ||
| 34 | TexasTech | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.8731 | ||
| 35 | LouisianaState | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.8417 | ||
| 36 | UCLA | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.8082 | ||
| 37 | FresnoState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1.8077 | ||
| 38 | WashingtonState | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.8053 | ||
| 39 | Maryland | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.7399 | ||
| 40 | Minnesota | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.6795 | ||
| 41 | NorthCarolinaState | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.6208 | ||
| 42 | California | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.6116 | ||
| 43 | IowaState | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.5662 | ||
| 44 | Florida | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1.4818 | ||
| 45 | EastCarolina | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.3571 | ||
| 46 | Syracuse | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.3242 | ||
| 47 | Mississippi | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.3215 | ||
| 48 | MississippiState | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.2999 | ||
| 49 | BallState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1.2967 | ||
| 50 | Yale | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1.1736 |