1982 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | PennState | 11 | 1 | 0 | 7.3965 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Georgia | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6.7279 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 | SouthernMethodist | 11 | 0 | 1 | 6.4336 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Nebraska | 12 | 1 | 0 | 6.4058 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | UCLA | 10 | 1 | 1 | 6.0051 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Washington | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5.4185 | 7 | 7 |
| 7 | ArizonaState | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5.3085 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | Clemson | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5.1570 | 8 | Prob. |
| 9 | NewMexico | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4.4285 | "21T" | "21T?" |
| 10 | Pittsburgh | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.3108 | 10 | 9 |
| 11 | SouthernCalifornia | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.1268 | 15 | Prob. |
| 12 | WestVirginia | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.0517 | 19 | 19 |
| 13 | Tulsa | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4.0000 | "21T" | "21T?" |
| 14 | FloridaState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.8615 | 13 | 10 |
| 15 | Auburn | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.8187 | 14 | 14 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3.8087 | 9 | 8 |
| 17 | Florida | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.3877 | "21T" | "21T?" |
| 18 | Texas | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.2832 | 17 | 17T |
| 19 | Alabama | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3.0588 | "21T" | "21T?" |
| 20 | LouisianaState | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2.9273 | 11 | 11 |
| 21 | Maryland | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.8876 | 20 | 20 |
| 22 | FresnoState | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2.8799 | "21T" | "21T?" |
| 23 | OhioState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.8415 | 12 | 12 |
| 24 | Oklahoma | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.7501 | 16 | 16 |
| 25 | California | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.5365 | ||
| 26 | NotreDame | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2.5109 | "21T" | |
| 27 | Arizona | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2.4463 | "21T" | |
| 28 | NorthCarolina | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.4330 | 18 | 13 |
| 29 | Vanderbilt | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.3076 | ||
| 30 | Michigan | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.2161 | "21T" | 15 |
| 31 | BostonCollege | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2.1678 | "21T" | |
| 32 | BrighamYoung | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.9460 | "21T" | |
| 33 | Miami(Florida) | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.7421 | ||
| 34 | Stanford | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.7015 | ||
| 35 | SanJoseState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.6676 | ||
| 36 | Iowa | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.5164 |
"21T" |
|
| 37 | SouthernMississippi | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.1352 | ||
| 38 | NorthCarolinaState | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.8936 | ||
| 39 | MississippiState | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.6558 | ||
| 40 | Tennessee | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.6308 | ||
| 41 | Duke | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.5969 | ||
| 42 | AirForce | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0.5757 |
"21T" |
|
| 43 | Missouri | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0.5415 | ||
| 44 | SanDiegoState | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0.5366 | ||
| 45 | Wisconsin | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0.5330 | ||
| 46 | GeorgiaTech | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.4767 | ||
| 47 | Houston | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0.3854 | ||
| 48 | VirginiaTech | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0.3762 |
"21T" |
|
| 49 | Illinois | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0.3640 | ||
| 50 | Hawaii | 6 | 5 | 0 |