National Champions: Alabama (AP, UPI), Arkansas (FWAA), Notre Dame (NFF)
Heisman Memorial Trophy: John Huarte (Notre Dame)
FWAA Coach of the Year Award: Ara Parseghian (Notre Dame)
AP Preseason #1: Mississippi ▪ AP Final #1: Alabama
| Overall | Bowls | SRS | Polls | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Conference | Schs | G | W | L | T | Pct | G | W | L | T | Pct | SRS | SOS | Pre | Final | Champion |
| 1 | Big Ten Conference | 10 | 91 | 48 | 43 | 0 | .527 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 12.25 | 11.79 | 2 | 2 | Michigan |
| 2 | Athletic Association of Western Universities | 8 | 81 | 43 | 36 | 2 | .543 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 8.80 | 8.35 | 1 | 2 | Oregon State Southern California |
| 3 | Southeastern Conference | 11 | 114 | 62 | 47 | 5 | .566 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 8.65 | 6.78 | 3 | 2 | Alabama |
| 4 | Southwest Conference | 8 | 83 | 42 | 39 | 2 | .518 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 7.39 | 7.11 | 1 | 2 | Arkansas |
| 5 | Western Athletic Conference | 6 | 62 | 41 | 17 | 4 | .694 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 6.20 | -0.33 | 0 | 0 | Arizona New Mexico Utah |
| 6 | Big Eight Conference | 8 | 82 | 37 | 42 | 3 | .470 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 4.65 | 5.40 | 1 | 1 | Nebraska |
| 7 | Atlantic Coast Conference | 8 | 80 | 35 | 42 | 3 | .456 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.18 | 1.72 | 0 | 0 | North Carolina State | |
| 8 | Independent | 32 | 312 | 145 | 154 | 13 | .486 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | -2.42 | -2.29 | 2 | 1 | |
| 9 | Missouri Valley Conference | 5 | 51 | 24 | 26 | 1 | .480 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | -5.10 | -5.00 | 0 | 0 | Cincinnati |
| 10 | Ivy Group | 8 | 72 | 38 | 31 | 3 | .549 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5.97 | -7.74 | 0 | 0 | Princeton | |
| 11 | Mid-American Conference | 7 | 68 | 35 | 30 | 3 | .537 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7.14 | -8.16 | 0 | 0 | Bowling Green State | |
| 12 | Southern Conference | 9 | 89 | 36 | 53 | 0 | .404 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | -12.56 | -9.06 | 0 | 0 | West Virginia |
| School | Conf | Pre | 9/28 | 10/5 | 10/12 | 10/19 | 10/26 | 11/2 | 11/9 | 11/16 | 11/23 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | SEC | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Arkansas | SWC | 9 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Notre Dame | Ind | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Michigan | Big Ten | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| Texas | SWC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Nebraska | Big 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | ||
| Louisiana State | SEC | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | |||
| Oregon State | AAWU | 8 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||
| Ohio State | Big Ten | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| Southern California | AAWU | 2 | 10 | |||||||||
| School | Conf | Pre | 9/28 | 10/5 | 10/12 | 10/19 | 10/26 | 11/2 | 11/9 | 11/16 | 11/23 | Final |
| Auburn | SEC | 8 | 7 | |||||||||
| Florida | SEC | 9 | 10 | 9 | ||||||||
| Florida State | Ind | 10 | 10 | 10 | ||||||||
| Georgia Tech | Ind | 8 | 7 | 10 | ||||||||
| Illinois | Big Ten | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||
| Kentucky | SEC | 5 | ||||||||||
| Michigan State | Big Ten | 9 | ||||||||||
| Mississippi | SEC | 1 | ||||||||||
| Navy | Ind | 10 | 6 | |||||||||
| Oklahoma | Big 8 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Oregon | AAWU | 7 | 10 | |||||||||
| Purdue | Big Ten | 10 | ||||||||||
| Syracuse | Ind | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |||||||
| Washington | AAWU | 7 | 10 |
|
Lawrence Elkins, B, Baylor Tucker Frederickson, B, Auburn John Huarte, B, Notre Dame Gale Sayers, B, Kansas Fred Biletnikoff, E, Florida State Jack Snow, E, Notre Dame Dick Butkus, L, Illinois Larry Kramer*, L, Nebraska Ralph Neely, L, Oklahoma Rick Redman, L, Washington Glenn Ressler, L, Penn State |