1987 Reward Ranking (before bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L | T | Reward | AP | UPI |
| 1 | Miami(Florida) | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8.8104 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8.2149 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | FloridaState | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7.5863 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Syracuse | 11 | 0 | 0 | 7.5048 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Nebraska | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7.1604 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Auburn | 9 | 1 | 1 | 6.5816 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | LouisianaState | 9 | 1 | 1 | 6.4090 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | MichiganState | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5.5216 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | NotreDame | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5.3284 | 12 | 14 |
| 10 | OklahomaState | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5.0487 | 11 | 11 |
| 11 | UCLA | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4.9235 | 10 | 10 |
| 12 | TexasA&M | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4.9052 | 13 | 13 |
| 13 | Clemson | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4.8676 | 14 | 12 |
| 14 | PennState | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.7245 | 20 | 19 |
| 15 | SouthernCalifornia | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.6147 | 16 | 17 |
| 16 | Georgia | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.5723 | 15 | 15 |
| 17 | SouthCarolina | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.4871 | 9 | 9 |
| 18 | Pittsburgh | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4.4654 | 19 | 18 |
| 19 | Tennessee | 9 | 2 | 1 | 4.2951 | 17 | 16 |
| 20 | Wyoming | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4.1735 | NR | NR |
| 21 | Iowa | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4.0653 | 18 | NR |
| 22 | SanJoseState | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4.0290 | NR | NR |
| 23 | Alabama | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.9330 | NR | NR |
| 24 | Indiana | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3.7248 | NR | 20 |
| 25 | Arkansas | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.3369 | ||
| 26 | BrighamYoung | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3.2475 | ||
| 27 | Michigan | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.8759 | ||
| 28 | Florida | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.8024 | ||
| 29 | AirForce | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.6562 | ||
| 30 | Colorado | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.4499 | ||
| 31 | OhioState | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2.2650 | ||
| 32 | Washington | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2.1999 | ||
| 33 | BostonCollege | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.1517 | ||
| 34 | TexasTech | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2.1265 | ||
| 35 | Virginia | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2.0994 | ||
| 36 | Texas | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.9264 | ||
| 37 | ArizonaState | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1.9075 | ||
| 38 | Oregon | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.8436 | ||
| 39 | WestVirginia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.6144 | ||
| 40 | WakeForest | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1.5746 | ||
| 41 | Rutgers | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1.3578 | ||
| 42 | EasternMichigan | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1.3538 | ||
| 43 | Memphis | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1.2379 | ||
| 44 | Kentucky | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.2113 | ||
| 45 | Arizona | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1.2068 | ||
| 46 | Missouri | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.2064 | ||
| 47 | Stanford | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.1593 | ||
| 48 | TexasChristian | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1.0292 | ||
| 49 | SouthernMississippi | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.9306 | ||
| 50 | Texas-ElPaso | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0.7966 |