1981 Reward Ranking (before bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | Clemson | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8.4495 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Texas | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7.1969 | 6 | 5 |
| 3 | PennState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7.1476 | 7 | 6 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7.0977 | 10 | 8 |
| 5 | Alabama | 9 | 1 | 1 | 6.6795 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Miami(Florida) | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6.6612 | 9 | Prob. |
| 7 | SouthernMethodist | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6.5797 | 5 | Prob. |
| 8 | Georgia | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6.5084 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.8643 | 4 | 4 |
| 10 | Washington | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.7744 | 12 | 10 |
| 11 | SouthernCalifornia | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.6556 | 8 | 7 |
| 12 | ArizonaState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.5291 | 17 | Prob. |
| 13 | SouthernMississippi | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5.4233 | 18 | 15 |
| 14 | Iowa | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5.2307 | 13 | 11 |
| 15 | WashingtonState | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4.8710 | 20 | 18 |
| 16 | NorthCarolina | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4.8420 | 11 | 9 |
| 17 | OhioState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.7805 | 15 | 14 |
| 18 | Michigan | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.7381 | 16 | 13 |
| 19 | BrighamYoung | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.6147 | 14 | 12 |
| 20 | Arkansas | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.5376 | NR | 17 |
| 21 | Hawaii | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4.4808 | NR | NR |
| 22 | UCLA | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4.4276 | 19 | 16 |
| 23 | WestVirginia | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.2748 | ||
| 24 | Yale | 9 | 1 | 0 | 4.1419 | ||
| 25 | Illinois | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4.1039 | ||
| 26 | Utah | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4.0057 | ||
| 27 | Kansas | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.9785 | ||
| 28 | Wisconsin | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.9211 | ||
| 29 | Houston | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3.9169 | NR | 19 |
| 30 | MississippiState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.8748 | ||
| 31 | SanJoseState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3.6659 | NR | 20 |
| 32 | Wyoming | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.6124 | ||
| 33 | Oklahoma | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3.2655 | ||
| 34 | Florida | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.2558 | ||
| 35 | Missouri | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.1885 | ||
| 36 | Miami(Ohio) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3.1018 | ||
| 37 | OklahomaState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.0246 | ||
| 38 | Navy | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2.9801 | ||
| 39 | FloridaState | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.8999 | ||
| 40 | Tennessee | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.8135 | ||
| 41 | Minnesota | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.5421 | ||
| 42 | Furman | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.4032 | ||
| 43 | SouthCarolina | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2.3485 | ||
| 44 | Purdue | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.3115 | ||
| 45 | MichiganState | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.2471 | ||
| 46 | NotreDame | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.1671 | ||
| 47 | Temple | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2.1556 | ||
| 48 | IowaState | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2.0927 | ||
| 49 | VirginiaTech | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.0601 | ||
| 50 | TexasA&M | 6 |