1980 Reward Ranking (before bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | FloridaState | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7.9576 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Georgia | 11 | 0 | 0 | 7.6173 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7.5159 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | NotreDame | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7.0117 | 7 | 6 |
| 5 | NorthCarolina | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6.6150 | 13 | 11 |
| 6 | Baylor | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6.5866 | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | Nebraska | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6.4278 | 8 | 9 |
| 8 | PennState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6.3867 | 10 | 10 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6.3758 | 4 | 4 |
| 10 | UCLA | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6.2146 | 15 | 12 |
| 11 | MississippiState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6.0825 | 17 | 17 |
| 12 | SouthernCalifornia | 8 | 2 | 1 | 6.0796 | 12 | 13 |
| 13 | Washington | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.9925 | 16 | 16 |
| 14 | Miami(Florida) | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5.7316 | 20 | NR |
| 15 | Michigan | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.6488 | 5 | 5 |
| 16 | Alabama | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.5287 | 9 | 6 |
| 17 | BrighamYoung | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5.3240 | 14 | 15 |
| 18 | OhioState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.1326 | 11 | 14 |
| 19 | SouthCarolina | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.6246 | 18 | 18 |
| 20 | Maryland | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.4192 | NR | 20 |
| 21 | SouthernMethodist | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.3206 | 19 | 19 |
| 22 | SouthernMississippi | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.1230 | ||
| 23 | Missouri | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.0008 | ||
| 24 | Oregon | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3.9190 | ||
| 25 | Florida | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.9165 | ||
| 26 | Navy | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.8426 | ||
| 27 | Furman | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3.7515 | ||
| 28 | Texas | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.7279 | ||
| 29 | ArizonaState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.6687 | ||
| 30 | LouisianaState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.6489 | ||
| 31 | McNeeseState | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3.6304 | ||
| 32 | Purdue | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.5803 | ||
| 33 | TennesseeState | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3.5715 | ||
| 34 | VirginiaTech | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.0465 | ||
| 35 | LongBeachState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.9337 | ||
| 36 | BostonCollege | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.8227 | ||
| 37 | Tulsa | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.7616 | ||
| 38 | Hawaii | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.7599 | ||
| 39 | Stanford | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.7292 | ||
| 40 | SanJoseState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.7134 | ||
| 41 | Houston | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.5843 | ||
| 42 | Tulane | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.5328 | ||
| 43 | Clemson | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.2688 | ||
| 44 | Rice | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.1573 | ||
| 45 | Nevada-LasVegas | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.1265 | ||
| 46 | Yale | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2.0596 | ||
| 47 | TexasTech | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.0320 | ||
| 48 | Arizona | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.0264 | ||
| 49 | Arkansas |