1998 Reward Ranking (after bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | Reward | AP | ESPN/USA Today |
| 1 | Tennessee | 13 | 0 | 8.6030 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 11 | 1 | 7.1731 | 6 | 5 |
| 3 | OhioState | 11 | 1 | 6.9531 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Arizona | 12 | 1 | 6.4707 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | FloridaState | 11 | 2 | 6.3090 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | UCLA | 10 | 2 | 6.1405 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | KansasState | 11 | 2 | 5.7659 | 10 | 9 |
| 8 | Florida | 10 | 2 | 5.7204 | 5 | 6 |
| 9 | Tulane | 12 | 0 | 5.4990 | 7 | 7 |
| 10 | GeorgiaTech | 10 | 2 | 5.3589 | 9 | 11 |
| 11 | AirForce | 12 | 1 | 5.2668 | 13 | 10 |
| 12 | TexasA&M | 11 | 3 | 5.0544 | 11 | 13 |
| 13 | Michigan | 10 | 3 | 5.0176 | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | Texas | 9 | 3 | 4.7639 | 15 | 16 |
| 15 | Miami(Florida) | 9 | 3 | 4.5795 | 20 | 21 |
| 16 | Georgia | 9 | 3 | 4.5224 | 14 | 14 |
| 17 | PennState | 9 | 3 | 4.4348 | 17 | 15 |
| 18 | Marshall | 12 | 1 | 4.3434 | 27 | 27 |
| 19 | Miami(Ohio) | 10 | 1 | 4.2469 | 30 | 34 |
| 20 | NotreDame | 9 | 3 | 4.2125 | 22 | 22 |
| 21 | Virginia | 9 | 3 | 4.0169 | 18 | 18 |
| 22 | Arkansas | 9 | 3 | 3.9056 | 16 | 17 |
| 23 | Nebraska | 9 | 4 | 3.5017 | 19 | 20 |
| 24 | Syracuse | 8 | 4 | 3.3833 | 25 | 24 |
| 25 | Purdue | 9 | 4 | 3.3793 | 24 | 23 |
| 26 | VirginiaTech | 9 | 3 | 3.3574 | 23 | 19 |
| 27 | Missouri | 8 | 4 | 3.2532 | 21 | 25 |
| 28 | Oregon | 8 | 4 | 3.0869 | 28 | 29 |
| 29 | Wyoming | 8 | 3 | 2.9139 | ||
| 30 | CentralFlorida | 9 | 2 | 2.7160 | ||
| 31 | Colorado | 8 | 4 | 2.6815 | ||
| 32 | WestVirginia | 8 | 4 | 2.4782 | ||
| 33 | SouthernCalifornia | 8 | 5 | 2.2826 | ||
| 34 | MichiganState | 6 | 6 | 2.2355 | ||
| 35 | NorthCarolinaState | 7 | 5 | 1.9856 | ||
| 36 | ColoradoState | 8 | 4 | 1.9733 | ||
| 37 | Kentucky | 7 | 5 | 1.9592 | ||
| 38 | MississippiState | 8 | 5 | 1.8541 | ||
| 39 | Washington | 6 | 6 | 1.7207 | ||
| 40 | Alabama | 7 | 5 | 1.6880 | ||
| 41 | TexasTech | 7 | 5 | 1.6137 | ||
| 42 | Idaho | 9 | 3 | 1.5576 | ||
| 43 | California | 5 | 6 | 1.4867 | ||
| 44 | NorthCarolina | 7 | 5 | 1.3402 | ||
| 45 | OregonState | 5 | 6 | 1.2795 | ||
| 46 | Minnesota | 5 | 6 | 1.2297 | ||
| 47 | OklahomaState | 5 | 6 | 1.1792 | ||
| 48 | ArizonaState | 5 | 6 | 1.1129 | ||
| 49 | TexasChristian | 7 | 5 | 1.1077 | ||
| 50 | Oklahoma | 5 | 6 | 1.0901 | ||
| 51 | Mississippi | 7 | 5 | 1.0013 | ||
| 52 | SouthernMississippi | 7 | 5 | 0.9598 | ||
| 53 | BrighamYoung | 9 | 5 | 0.8403 | ||
| 54 | SanDiegoState | 7 | 5 | 0.7424 | ||
| 55 | Utah | 7 | 4 | 0.6443 | ||
| 56 | Rice | 5 | 6 | 0.5747 |