1980 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | Georgia | 12 | 0 | 0 | 8.4346 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 11 | 1 | 0 | 7.6325 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | FloridaState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 7.1151 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 10 | 2 | 0 | 6.8089 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Nebraska | 10 | 2 | 0 | 6.7725 | 7 | 7 |
| 6 | NorthCarolina | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6.6942 | 10 | 9 |
| 7 | PennState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 6.5066 | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | NotreDame | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6.3302 | 9 | 10 |
| 9 | Alabama | 10 | 2 | 0 | 6.1855 | 6 | 6 |
| 10 | UCLA | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6.1677 | 13 | 14 |
| 11 | SouthernCalifornia | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5.9242 | 11 | 12 |
| 12 | BrighamYoung | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5.9098 | 12 | 11 |
| 13 | Michigan | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5.8733 | 4 | 4 |
| 14 | Miami(Florida) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 5.6900 | 18 | 18 |
| 15 | Baylor | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5.5855 | 14 | 13 |
| 16 | MississippiState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 5.3702 | 19 | |
| 17 | Washington | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.9563 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | OhioState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.4199 | 15 | 15 |
| 19 | Purdue | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.3353 | 17 | 16 |
| 20 | SouthernMississippi | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.1881 | ||
| 21 | Florida | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4.1863 | 19 | |
| 22 | SouthCarolina | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.9542 | ||
| 23 | Oregon | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3.8517 | ||
| 24 | Furman | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3.7282 | ||
| 25 | LouisianaState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.6920 | ||
| 26 | ArizonaState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.6271 | ||
| 27 | Maryland | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.5908 | ||
| 28 | TennesseeState | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3.5551 | ||
| 29 | SouthernMethodist | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.3950 | 20 | 20 |
| 30 | Missouri | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.2881 | ||
| 31 | LongBeachState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.9311 | ||
| 32 | Texas | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2.9000 | ||
| 33 | McNeeseState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2.8287 | ||
| 34 | Hawaii | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.8074 | ||
| 35 | Stanford | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.7521 | ||
| 36 | Tulsa | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.7380 | ||
| 37 | Navy | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.7322 | ||
| 38 | BostonCollege | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.7305 | ||
| 39 | SanJoseState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.5972 | ||
| 40 | Houston | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2.4901 | ||
| 41 | VirginiaTech | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.2875 | ||
| 42 | Clemson | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.2187 | ||
| 43 | Nevada-LasVegas | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.1750 | ||
| 44 | Rice | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.1115 | ||
| 45 | Yale | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2.0032 | ||
| 46 | Arkansas | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.9754 | ||
| 47 | Arizona | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.9728 | ||
| 48 | NorthCarolinaState | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.9516 | ||
| 49 | TexasTech | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.9301 | ||
| 50 | Auburn |