1997 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | Reward | AP | ESPN/USA Today |
| 1 | Nebraska | 13 | 0 | 8.6433 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Michigan | 12 | 0 | 7.6436 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Florida | 10 | 2 | 7.1650 | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 11 | 2 | 7.0033 | 7 | 8 |
| 5 | FloridaState | 11 | 1 | 6.8284 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Georgia | 10 | 2 | 6.7413 | 10 | 10 |
| 7 | WashingtonState | 10 | 2 | 5.9191 | 9 | 9 |
| 8 | NorthCarolina | 11 | 1 | 5.7037 | 6 | 4 |
| 9 | Auburn | 10 | 3 | 5.5394 | 11 | 11 |
| 10 | UCLA | 10 | 2 | 5.4765 | 5 | 5 |
| 11 | KansasState | 11 | 1 | 5.1332 | 8 | 7 |
| 12 | LouisianaState | 9 | 3 | 5.0404 | 13 | 13 |
| 13 | PennState | 9 | 3 | 4.1919 | 16 | 17 |
| 14 | ArizonaState | 9 | 3 | 3.9588 | 14 | 14 |
| 15 | OhioState | 10 | 3 | 3.8711 | 12 | 12 |
| 16 | Mississippi | 8 | 4 | 3.7878 | 22 | 22 |
| 17 | MississippiState | 7 | 4 | 3.7370 | 34 | 34 |
| 18 | LouisianaTech | 9 | 2 | 3.3992 | 32 | 29 |
| 19 | Washington | 8 | 4 | 3.2916 | 18 | 18 |
| 20 | ColoradoState | 11 | 2 | 3.1585 | 17 | 16 |
| 21 | Purdue | 9 | 3 | 2.9547 | 15 | 15 |
| 22 | SouthernMississippi | 9 | 3 | 2.8993 | 19 | 19 |
| 23 | Virginia | 7 | 4 | 2.7810 | 30 | 38 |
| 24 | Toledo | 9 | 3 | 2.3765 | NR | NR |
| 25 | Marshall | 10 | 3 | 2.2085 | 29 | 40 |
| 26 | AirForce | 10 | 3 | 2.1830 | 28 | 25 |
| 27 | TexasA&M | 9 | 4 | 2.1329 | 20 | 21 |
| 28 | SouthernCalifornia | 6 | 5 | 2.0896 | ||
| 29 | SouthCarolina | 5 | 6 | 1.9746 | ||
| 30 | Oregon | 7 | 5 | 1.9529 | ||
| 31 | Arizona | 7 | 5 | 1.9285 | ||
| 32 | Miami(Ohio) | 8 | 3 | 1.8747 | ||
| 33 | Clemson | 7 | 5 | 1.8514 | ||
| 34 | GeorgiaTech | 7 | 5 | 1.7159 | ||
| 35 | Ohio | 8 | 3 | 1.7053 | ||
| 36 | NotreDame | 7 | 6 | 1.6978 | ||
| 37 | MichiganState | 7 | 5 | 1.6534 | ||
| 38 | Stanford | 5 | 6 | 1.5752 | ||
| 39 | Kentucky | 5 | 6 | 1.4499 | ||
| 40 | Syracuse | 9 | 4 | 1.4108 | ||
| 41 | NorthCarolinaState | 6 | 5 | 1.3285 | ||
| 42 | OklahomaState | 8 | 4 | 1.1817 | ||
| 43 | Wisconsin | 8 | 5 | 1.1504 | ||
| 44 | Arkansas | 4 | 7 | 1.1279 | ||
| 45 | WesternMichigan | 8 | 3 | 1.0983 | ||
| 46 | Tulane | 7 | 4 | 1.0806 | ||
| 47 | Colorado | 5 | 6 | 1.0212 | ||
| 48 | Missouri | 7 | 5 | 1.0005 | ||
| 49 | Iowa | 7 | 5 | 0.9202 | ||
| 50 | TexasTech | 6 | 5 | 0.9148 | ||
| 51 | Alabama | 4 | 7 | 0.8755 | ||
| 52 | NewMexico | 9 | 4 | 0.7440 | ||
| 53 | Rice | 7 | 4 | 0.6997 | ||
| 54 | Cincinnati | 8 | 4 | 0.6083 | ||
| 55 | WakeForest | 5 | 6 | 0.5610 | ||
| 56 | Northwestern | 5 | 7 | 0.5540 | ||
| 57 | CentralFlorida | 5 |