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 | 6 | 0.4461 | ||
| 58 | BrighamYoung | 6 | 5 | 0.1205 | ||
| 59 | VirginiaTech | 7 | 5 | 0.1040 | ||
| 60 | EastCarolina | 5 | 6 | -0.0258 | ||
| 61 | WestVirginia | 7 | 5 | -0.0456 | ||
| 62 | Kansas | 5 | 6 | -0.0708 | ||
| 63 | Navy | 7 | 4 | -0.1461 | ||
| 64 | SouthernMethodist | 6 | 5 | -0.1689 | ||
| 65 | Pittsburgh | 6 | 6 | -0.5163 | ||
| 66 | SanDiegoState | 5 | 7 | -0.5340 | ||
| 67 | Louisiana-Monroe | 5 | 7 | -0.5589 | ||
| 68 | FresnoState | 6 | 6 | -0.6002 | ||
| 69 | Wyoming | 7 | 6 | -0.6575 | ||
| 70 | Utah | 6 | 5 | -0.7122 | ||
| 71 | BallState | 5 | 6 | -0.9724 | ||
| 72 | Miami(Florida) | 5 | 6 | -1.0925 | ||
| 73 | California | 3 | 8 | -1.1562 | ||
| 74 | Oklahoma | 4 | 8 | -1.2067 | ||
| 75 | Texas | 4 | 7 | -1.2474 | ||
| 76 | Vanderbilt | 3 | 8 | -1.2879 | ||
| 77 | UtahState | 6 | 6 | -1.3979 | ||
| 78 | Nevada | 5 | 6 | -1.4818 | ||
| 79 | SanJoseState | 4 | 7 | -1.6381 | ||
| 80 | OregonState | 3 | 8 | -1.6839 | ||
| 81 | BostonCollege | 4 | 7 | -1.8044 | ||
| 82 | Memphis | 4 | 7 | -2.0115 | ||
| 83 | Texas-ElPaso | 4 | 7 | -2.0595 | ||
| 84 | EasternMichigan | 4 | 7 | -2.2048 | ||
| 85 | Alabama-Birmingham | 5 | 6 | -2.2948 | ||
| 86 | BowlingGreenState | 3 | 8 | -2.3059 | ||
| 87 | Minnesota | 3 | 9 | -2.5513 | ||
| 88 | Houston | 3 | 8 | -2.6079 | ||
| 89 | Indiana | 2 | 9 | -2.6729 | ||
| 90 | Maryland | 2 | 9 | -2.7338 | ||
| 91 | NorthTexas | 4 | 7 | -2.8402 | ||
| 92 | Duke | 2 | 9 | -2.8562 | ||
| 93 | Army | 4 | 7 | -2.9625 | ||
| 94 | Temple | 3 | 8 | -3.0794 | ||
| 95 | Idaho | 5 | 6 | -3.0919 | ||
| 96 | Baylor | 2 | 9 | -3.2516 | ||
| 97 | BoiseState | 4 | 7 | -3.3803 | ||
| 98 | Hawaii | 3 | 9 | -3.4269 | ||
| 99 | Nevada-LasVegas | 3 | 8 | -3.5246 | ||
| 100 | Kent | 3 | 8 | -3.5856 | ||
| 101 | Tulsa | 2 | 9 | -3.7753 | ||
| 102 | Akron | 2 | 9 | -3.8351 | ||
| 103 | IowaState | 1 | 10 | -4.0759 | ||
| 104 | Illinois | 0 | 11 | -4.4880 | ||
| 105 | CentralMichigan | 2 | 9 | -4.5162 | ||
| 106 | Louisville | 1 | 10 | -4.7990 | ||
| 107 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 1 | 10 | -5.0603 | ||
| 108 | TexasChristian | 1 | 10 | -5.3695 | ||
| 109 | ArkansasState | 2 | 9 | -5.7791 | ||
| 110 | NorthernIllinois | 0 | 11 | -5.8011 | ||
| 111 | NewMexicoState | 2 | 9 | -5.9242 | ||
| 112 | Rutgers | 0 | 11 | -6.3000 | ||
| 113 | NON_DIV1A | 6 | 32 | -6.7352 |
(This page last modified June 28, 2006 .)