1978 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | SouthernCalifornia | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5.9192 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Alabama | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.7732 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.4038 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | PennState | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4.7872 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Clemson | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4.4899 | 6 | 7 |
| 6 | Michigan | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.2002 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Nebraska | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.4182 | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | Arkansas | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3.3810 | 11 | 10 |
| 9 | NotreDame | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.2636 | 7 | 6 |
| 10 | Purdue | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3.1420 | 13 | 13 |
| 11 | Georgia | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3.0595 | 16 | 15 |
| 12 | Texas | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.9506 | 9 | 9 |
| 13 | Houston | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.8403 | 10 | 11 |
| 14 | MichiganState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.7728 | 12 | Prob. |
| 15 | ArizonaState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.7715 | NR | 19T |
| 16 | NorthTexas | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.4250 | NR | NR |
| 17 | Maryland | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.4115 | 20 | NR |
| 18 | NorthCarolinaState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.1726 | 18 | 19T |
| 19 | BallState | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2.1154 | NR | NR |
| 20 | Stanford | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.0417 | 17 | 16 |
| 21 | UCLA | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2.0104 | 14 | 12 |
| 22 | Missouri | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.9845 | 15 | 14 |
| 23 | Tulsa | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1.9590 | ||
| 24 | TexasTech | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.9309 | ||
| 25 | FloridaState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.8631 | ||
| 26 | Washington | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.7881 | ||
| 27 | Navy | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1.7319 | ||
| 28 | TexasA&M | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.5086 | 19 | 18 |
| 29 | Pittsburgh | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.2900 | ||
| 30 | IowaState | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.2193 | ||
| 31 | California | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.1021 | ||
| 32 | OhioState | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1.0968 | ||
| 33 | LouisianaState | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.0914 | ||
| 34 | Utah | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.0069 | ||
| 35 | SouthernMethodist | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0.9550 | ||
| 36 | Auburn | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.8993 | ||
| 37 | Colorado | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.8553 | ||
| 38 | MississippiState | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.8355 | ||
| 39 | Rutgers | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0.8142 | ||
| 40 | GeorgiaTech | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0.7961 | ||
| 41 | Tennessee | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0.7590 | ||
| 42 | Miami(Ohio) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0.7351 | ||
| 43 | CentralMichigan | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0.7331 | ||
| 44 | Florida | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.6676 | ||
| 45 | SouthCarolina | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0.6229 | ||
| 46 | Arizona | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.5968 | ||
| 47 | EastCarolina | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0.5268 | ||
| 48 | Miami(Florida) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.4395 | ||
| 49 | Mississippi | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.4365 | ||
| 50 | Kentucky | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0.3818 |