1973 Reward Ranking (before bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | Alabama | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6.4282 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 10 | 0 | 1 | 6.2780 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | NotreDame | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5.7114 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | PennState | 11 | 0 | 0 | 5.3606 | 6 | 5 |
| 5 | Miami(Ohio) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4.8084 | 15 | 17 |
| 6 | Michigan | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4.7838 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | OhioState | 9 | 0 | 1 | 4.6342 | 4 | 3 |
| 8 | SouthernCalifornia | 9 | 1 | 1 | 4.2830 | 7 | 7 |
| 9 | TexasTech | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4.2763 | 11 | 11T |
| 10 | Houston | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3.9059 | 14 | 13 |
| 11 | LouisianaState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3.8524 | 13 | 14 |
| 12 | Texas | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3.8409 | 8 | 8 |
| 13 | Nebraska | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3.8144 | 12 | 11T |
| 14 | Tulane | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3.6411 | 17 | 15T |
| 15 | SanDiegoState | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3.2265 | NR | 18T |
| 16 | ArizonaState | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3.1438 | 10 | 10 |
| 17 | UCLA | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3.1398 | 9 | 9 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.8085 | 20 | NR |
| 19 | Kansas | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2.7138 | 19 | 15T |
| 20 | Kent | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.4136 | NR | NR |
| 21 | NorthCarolinaState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.3897 | 16 | NR |
| 22 | EastCarolina | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.0619 | NR | NR |
| 23 | Maryland | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.0452 | 18 | 18T |
| 24 | Missouri | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.9827 | ||
| 25 | Richmond | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1.7439 | ||
| 26 | Auburn | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.6773 | ||
| 27 | Florida | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.6463 | NR | 18T |
| 28 | Temple | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1.6141 | ||
| 29 | OklahomaState | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1.6116 | ||
| 30 | Georgia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1.5667 | ||
| 31 | Colorado | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.5077 | ||
| 32 | Memphis | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.4252 | ||
| 33 | Mississippi | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.3723 | ||
| 34 | Minnesota | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.3335 | ||
| 35 | Miami(Florida) | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.3309 | ||
| 36 | KansasState | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.2849 | ||
| 37 | Arizona | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.2266 | ||
| 38 | Stanford | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.1277 | ||
| 39 | MississippiState | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1.1074 | ||
| 40 | Rice | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.0607 | ||
| 41 | SouthCarolina | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.0338 | ||
| 42 | IowaState | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.9971 | ||
| 43 | Pittsburgh | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.9897 | ||
| 44 | Kentucky | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.9736 | ||
| 45 | Arkansas | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0.8999 | ||
| 46 | SouthernMethodist | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.8851 | ||
| 47 | Vanderbilt | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.7546 | ||
| 48 | BowlingGreenState | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.7209 | ||
| 49 | AirForce | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.6966 | ||
| 50 | TexasA&M | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.5393 |