1998 Reward Ranking (before bowl games)
| Rank | Name | W | L |
Reward |
AP | ESPN/USA Today |
| 1 | Tennessee | 12 | 0 | 7.8761 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | FloridaState | 11 | 1 | 7.4837 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | UCLA | 10 | 1 | 7.3984 | 6 | 5 |
| 4 | KansasState | 11 | 1 | 7.0437 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Arizona | 11 | 1 | 6.6903 | 5 | 6 |
| 6 | TexasA&M | 11 | 2 | 6.3238 | 8 | 9 |
| 7 | OhioState | 10 | 1 | 6.1762 | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 10 | 1 | 5.9865 | 9 | 8 |
| 9 | Tulane | 11 | 0 | 5.8174 | 10 | 10 |
| 10 | Florida | 9 | 2 | 5.5363 | 7 | 7 |
| 11 | GeorgiaTech | 9 | 2 | 5.3302 | 12 | 14 |
| 12 | Texas | 8 | 3 | 5.1893 | 20 | 22 |
| 13 | NotreDame | 9 | 2 | 5.0073 | 17 | 18 |
| 14 | Arkansas | 9 | 2 | 4.9811 | 11 | 11 |
| 15 | AirForce | 11 | 1 | 4.9798 | 16 | 13 |
| 16 | Virginia | 9 | 2 | 4.9256 | 13 | 12 |
| 17 | Miami(Florida) | 8 | 3 | 4.7585 | 24 | 26 |
| 18 | Oregon | 8 | 3 | 4.7420 | 21 | 21 |
| 19 | Michigan | 9 | 3 | 4.5598 | 15 | 15 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 9 | 3 | 4.5462 | 14 | 16 |
| 21 | Miami(Ohio) | 10 | 1 | 4.1591 | 31 | 33T |
| 22 | Syracuse | 8 | 3 | 4.1263 | 18 | 17 |
| 23 | Georgia | 8 | 3 | 4.0250 | 19 | 19 |
| 24 | PennState | 8 | 3 | 4.0238 | 22 | 20 |
| 25 | Marshall | 11 | 1 | 3.9895 | 30 | 31 |
| 26 | SouthernCalifornia | 8 | 4 | 3.8974 | 27 | 29 |
| 27 | WestVirginia | 8 | 3 | 3.3531 | 28 | 25 |
| 28 | Missouri | 7 | 4 | 3.2974 | 23 | 27 |
| 29 | NorthCarolinaState | 7 | 4 | 3.2701 | NR | NR |
| 30 | VirginiaTech | 8 | 3 | 3.2177 | 26 | 24 |
| 31 | MississippiState | 8 | 4 | 2.9461 | 25 | 23 |
| 32 | TexasTech | 7 | 4 | 2.8983 | ||
| 33 | Kentucky | 7 | 4 | 2.8519 | ||
| 34 | Alabama | 7 | 4 | 2.8128 | ||
| 35 | Wyoming | 8 | 3 | 2.7464 | ||
| 36 | CentralFlorida | 9 | 2 | 2.7448 | ||
| 37 | Purdue | 8 | 4 | 2.6532 | ||
| 38 | Colorado | 7 | 4 | 2.5772 | ||
| 39 | Washington | 6 | 5 | 2.4472 | ||
| 40 | SouthernMississippi | 7 | 4 | 2.1814 | ||
| 41 | California | 5 | 6 | 2.0825 | ||
| 42 | MichiganState | 6 | 6 | 2.0513 | ||
| 43 | BrighamYoung | 9 | 4 | 1.9849 | ||
| 44 | OregonState | 5 | 6 | 1.8941 | ||
| 45 | ColoradoState | 8 | 4 | 1.8104 | ||
| 46 | SanDiegoState | 7 | 4 | 1.7756 | ||
| 47 | ArizonaState | 5 | 6 | 1.7108 | ||
| 48 | OklahomaState | 5 | 6 | 1.4939 | ||
| 49 | NorthCarolina | 6 | 5 | 1.4176 | ||
| 50 | Oklahoma | 5 | 6 | 1.2932 | ||
| 51 | Louisville | 7 | 4 | 1.2708 | ||
| 52 | Minnesota | 5 | 6 | 0.9846 | ||
| 53 | Utah | 7 | 4 | 0.9560 | ||
| 54 | Idaho | 8 | 3 | 0.8784 | ||
| 55 | Mississippi | 6 | 5 | 0.7154 | ||
| 56 | TexasChristian | 6 | 5 | 0.6422 | ||
| 57 | LouisianaState | 4 | 7 | 0.4628 | ||