1981 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | Clemson | 12 | 0 | 0 | 8.5505 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 11 | 1 | 0 | 7.5200 | 4 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas | 10 | 1 | 1 | 7.1886 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | PennState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 7.0815 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Miami(Florida) | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6.4870 | 8 | Prob. |
| 6 | SouthernMethodist | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6.2363 | 5 | Prob. |
| 7 | Alabama | 9 | 2 | 1 | 5.6745 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | Washington | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5.5992 | 10 | 7 |
| 9 | Georgia | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5.5670 | 6 | 5 |
| 10 | NorthCarolina | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5.1787 | 9 | 8 |
| 11 | ArizonaState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.1611 | 16 | Prob. |
| 12 | Nebraska | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.8395 | 11 | 9 |
| 13 | BrighamYoung | 11 | 2 | 0 | 4.6685 | 13 | 11 |
| 14 | OhioState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.4861 | 15 | 12 |
| 15 | Michigan | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.4857 | 12 | 10 |
| 16 | WestVirginia | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.4361 | 17 | 18 |
| 17 | SouthernCalifornia | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.4274 | 14 | 13 |
| 18 | SouthernMississippi | 9 | 2 | 1 | 4.3334 | 19 | |
| 19 | Hawaii | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4.3276 | ||
| 20 | Yale | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3.8846 | ||
| 21 | Utah | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3.7890 | ||
| 22 | Iowa | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.7287 | 18 | 15 |
| 23 | MississippiState | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.7094 | 17 | |
| 24 | Illinois | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.6419 | ||
| 25 | WashingtonState | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3.5319 | ||
| 26 | Wyoming | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.4970 | ||
| 27 | Arkansas | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.4768 | 16 | |
| 28 | Missouri | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.0852 | 19 | 20 |
| 29 | Oklahoma | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3.0832 | 20 | 14 |
| 30 | UCLA | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3.0695 | ||
| 31 | Miami(Ohio) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3.0673 | ||
| 32 | Tennessee | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.9318 | ||
| 33 | Kansas | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.8368 | ||
| 34 | Houston | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2.7501 | ||
| 35 | FloridaState | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.6202 | ||
| 36 | Wisconsin | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2.4451 | ||
| 37 | SanJoseState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.3343 | ||
| 38 | Toledo | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.3268 | ||
| 39 | SouthCarolina | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2.2549 | ||
| 40 | Furman | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.1942 | ||
| 41 | Florida | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2.1669 | ||
| 42 | Minnesota | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.0985 | ||
| 43 | Temple | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2.0582 | ||
| 44 | Navy | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2.0162 | ||
| 45 | VirginiaTech | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.9362 | ||
| 46 | TexasA&M | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.9135 | ||
| 47 | Purdue | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.9065 | ||
| 48 | NotreDame | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.8430 | ||
| 49 | VMI | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1.8357 | ||
| 50 | Duke |