1996 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | Reward | AP | ESPN/USA Today |
| 1 | Florida | 12 | 1 | 8.0701 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | FloridaState | 11 | 1 | 8.0085 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | OhioState | 11 | 1 | 7.3436 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | ArizonaState | 11 | 1 | 7.1337 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | BrighamYoung | 14 | 1 | 6.0026 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Nebraska | 11 | 2 | 6.0004 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | PennState | 11 | 2 | 5.6353 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 10 | 2 | 5.6290 | 9 | 9 |
| 9 | Colorado | 10 | 2 | 5.6101 | 8 | 8 |
| 10 | VirginiaTech | 10 | 2 | 5.2818 | 13 | 12 |
| 11 | LouisianaState | 10 | 2 | 5.2105 | 12 | 13 |
| 12 | NorthCarolina | 10 | 2 | 5.2087 | 10 | 10 |
| 13 | Alabama | 10 | 3 | 4.9032 | 11 | 11 |
| 14 | Washington | 9 | 3 | 4.4728 | 16 | 15 |
| 15 | Miami(Florida) | 9 | 3 | 4.2964 | 14 | 14 |
| 16 | Iowa | 9 | 3 | 4.2178 | 18 | 18 |
| 17 | Syracuse | 9 | 3 | 4.1739 | 21 | 19 |
| 18 | Northwestern | 9 | 3 | 4.1637 | 15 | 16 |
| 19 | NotreDame | 8 | 3 | 4.0851 | 19 | 21 |
| 20 | Michigan | 8 | 4 | 3.9573 | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | Army | 10 | 2 | 3.8709 | 25 | 24 |
| 22 | SouthernMississippi | 8 | 3 | 3.8691 | 29 | 31 |
| 23 | EastCarolina | 8 | 3 | 3.8382 | 28 | 29 |
| 24 | KansasState | 9 | 3 | 3.8308 | 17 | 17 |
| 25 | Wyoming | 10 | 2 | 3.2918 | 22 | 22 |
| 26 | Auburn | 8 | 4 | 3.0325 | 24 | 25 |
| 27 | WestVirginia | 8 | 4 | 2.6977 | 26 | 26 |
| 28 | Navy | 9 | 3 | 2.6129 | 27 | 27 |
| 29 | Rice | 7 | 4 | 2.2116 | ||
| 30 | Virginia | 7 | 5 | 2.1243 | ||
| 31 | Texas | 8 | 5 | 2.0920 | ||
| 32 | SanDiegoState | 8 | 3 | 2.0123 | ||
| 33 | Wisconsin | 8 | 5 | 1.8445 | ||
| 34 | Utah | 8 | 4 | 1.7972 | ||
| 35 | Houston | 7 | 5 | 1.7700 | ||
| 36 | SouthCarolina | 6 | 5 | 1.7647 | ||
| 37 | SouthernCalifornia | 6 | 6 | 1.7216 | ||
| 38 | Clemson | 7 | 5 | 1.6341 | ||
| 39 | Georgia | 5 | 6 | 1.5810 | ||
| 40 | UCLA | 5 | 6 | 1.4598 | ||
| 41 | MississippiState | 5 | 6 | 1.3136 | ||
| 42 | MichiganState | 6 | 6 | 1.3100 | ||
| 43 | TexasTech | 7 | 5 | 1.1924 | ||
| 44 | Stanford | 7 | 5 | 1.1619 | ||
| 45 | BostonCollege | 5 | 7 | 1.0701 | ||
| 46 | AirForce | 6 | 5 | 1.0544 | ||
| 47 | Oregon | 6 | 5 | 1.0047 | ||
| 48 | Nevada | 9 | 3 | 0.8702 | ||
| 49 | Arizona | 5 | 6 | 0.8474 | ||
| 50 | Louisville | 5 | 6 | 0.8236 | ||
| 51 | Missouri | 5 | 6 | 0.8170 | ||
| 52 | Mississippi | 5 | 6 | 0.7940 | ||
| 53 | GeorgiaTech | 5 | 6 | 0.7681 | ||
| 54 | California | 6 | 6 | 0.7518 | ||
| 55 | Cincinnati | 6 | 5 | 0.7389 | ||
| 56 | ColoradoState | 7 | 5 | 0.7174 | ||
| 57 | WashingtonState |