1983 Reward Ranking (before bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | Texas | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8.0830 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Auburn | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7.1739 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Illinois | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6.9450 | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | Nebraska | 12 | 0 | 0 | 6.5783 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Georgia | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5.9312 | 7 | 7 |
| 6 | Miami(Florida) | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5.6618 | 5 | 4 |
| 7 | Michigan | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.6383 | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | Iowa | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.4146 | 10 | 10 |
| 9 | Florida | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5.1280 | 11 | 11 |
| 10 | Clemson | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5.0339 | 12 | Prob. |
| 11 | BostonCollege | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4.6743 | 13 | 12 |
| 12 | BrighamYoung | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4.6256 | 9 | 9 |
| 13 | SouthernMethodist | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4.1776 | 6 | 6 |
| 14 | OhioState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.0952 | 14 | 13 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4.0544 | 15 | 14 |
| 16 | WestVirginia | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.9250 | 18 | 19 |
| 17 | Maryland | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.9117 | 17 | 15 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.4300 | ||
| 19 | NorthernIllinois | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3.2812 | ||
| 20 | EastCarolina | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.1467 | 19 | NR |
| 21 | Washington | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.0850 | ||
| 22 | Wisconsin | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.0146 | ||
| 23 | Missouri | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.9771 | ||
| 24 | VirginiaTech | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.7149 | NR | 18 |
| 25 | Toledo | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.6221 | ||
| 26 | AirForce | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.5445 | 16 | 16 |
| 27 | PennState | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2.3887 | ||
| 28 | Baylor | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2.2307 | 20T | 17 |
| 29 | Alabama | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.1881 | ||
| 30 | CentralMichigan | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.1671 | ||
| 31 | NorthCarolina | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.1565 | ||
| 32 | Oklahoma | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.1281 | 20T | 20 |
| 33 | BowlingGreenState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.8832 | ||
| 34 | UCLA | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1.7231 | ||
| 35 | Kentucky | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1.7036 | ||
| 36 | SouthernMississippi | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.5957 | ||
| 37 | Syracuse | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.4477 | ||
| 38 | WashingtonState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.3339 | ||
| 39 | Arizona | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1.3215 | ||
| 40 | FloridaState | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.3158 | ||
| 41 | OklahomaState | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.0502 | ||
| 42 | Mississippi | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.7768 | ||
| 43 | Memphis | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0.6977 | ||
| 44 | NotreDame | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.5263 | ||
| 45 | MichiganState | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0.3919 | ||
| 46 | Tulsa | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0.2110 | ||
| 47 | Virginia | 6 | 5 | 0 | -0.0585 | ||
| 48 | Arkansas | 6 | 5 | 0 | -0.1250 | ||
| 49 | Wyoming | 7 | 5 | 0 | -0.2359 | ||
| 50 | ArizonaState | 6 | 4 | 1 | -0.3051 |