1983 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | Auburn | 11 | 1 | 0 | 7.2788 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Texas | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6.9279 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 | Miami(Florida) | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6.5831 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Georgia | 10 | 1 | 1 | 6.4064 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Nebraska | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5.6522 | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | Florida | 9 | 2 | 1 | 5.5287 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Illinois | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5.1508 | 10 | 10 |
| 8 | BrighamYoung | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4.9287 | 7 | 7 |
| 9 | Clemson | 9 | 1 | 1 | 4.5790 | 11 | Prob. |
| 10 | Michigan | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.2728 | 8 | 9 |
| 11 | Iowa | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.0977 | 14 | 14 |
| 12 | OhioState | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.8072 | 9 | 8 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.6645 | 21 | "21T?" |
| 14 | WestVirginia | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.6637 | 16 | 16 |
| 15 | BostonCollege | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.4372 | 19 | 20 |
| 16 | Pittsburgh | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3.2108 | 18 | 19 |
| 17 | NorthernIllinois | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3.1267 | 30 | NR |
| 18 | AirForce | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3.0268 | 13 | 15 |
| 19 | EastCarolina | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.9565 | 20 | "21T" |
| 20 | SouthernMethodist | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2.9249 | 12 | 11 |
| 21 | Maryland | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.6998 | 27 | NR |
| 22 | VirginiaTech | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.5731 | 26 | NR |
| 23 | Toledo | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.5217 | ||
| 24 | Wisconsin | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.4594 | ||
| 25 | UCLA | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2.3324 | 17 | 13 |
| 26 | Alabama | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.3177 | 15 | 12 |
| 27 | PennState | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2.2350 | 22 | 17 |
| 28 | CentralMichigan | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.0487 | ||
| 29 | Washington | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.8462 | ||
| 30 | Oklahoma | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.8300 | ||
| 31 | BowlingGreenState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.7907 | ||
| 32 | Missouri | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.4771 | ||
| 33 | SouthernMississippi | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.4687 | ||
| 34 | FloridaState | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1.4217 | ||
| 35 | Kentucky | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1.3502 | ||
| 36 | Arizona | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1.3205 | ||
| 37 | Syracuse | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.1762 | ||
| 38 | NorthCarolina | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.1459 | ||
| 39 | WashingtonState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.1178 | ||
| 40 | OklahomaState | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.0196 | 23 | 18 |
| 41 | Baylor | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1.0029 | ||
| 42 | NotreDame | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0.8498 | ||
| 43 | Memphis | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.5242 | ||
| 44 | Mississippi | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0.4811 | ||
| 45 | MichiganState | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0.0693 | ||
| 46 | Tulsa | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0.0133 | ||
| 47 | Wyoming | 7 | 5 | 0 | -0.2830 | ||
| 48 | ArizonaState | 6 | 4 | 1 | -0.3359 | ||
| 49 | Virginia | 6 | 5 | 0 | -0.3647 | ||
| 50 | SouthCarolina | 5 | 6 | 0 |