National Champion: Texas (AP, FWAA, NFF, UPI)
Heisman Memorial Trophy: Steve Owens (Oklahoma)
FWAA Coach of the Year Award: Bo Schembechler (Michigan)
AP Preseason #1: Ohio State ▪ AP Final #1: Texas
| Overall | Bowls | SRS | Polls | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Conference | Schs | G | W | L | T | Pct | G | W | L | T | Pct | SRS | SOS | Pre | Final | Champion |
| 1 | Big Eight Conference | 8 | 83 | 46 | 37 | 0 | .554 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 13.14 | 10.90 | 2 | 3 | Missouri Nebraska |
| 2 | Southeastern Conference | 10 | 106 | 63 | 41 | 2 | .604 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 11.77 | 7.88 | 5 | 5 | Tennessee |
| 3 | Pacific-8 Conference | 8 | 82 | 43 | 35 | 4 | .549 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 9.91 | 8.25 | 3 | 3 | Southern California |
| 4 | Big Ten Conference | 10 | 100 | 47 | 52 | 1 | .475 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 5.79 | 6.93 | 5 | 3 | Michigan Ohio State |
| 5 | Southwest Conference | 8 | 82 | 38 | 44 | 0 | .463 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 5.21 | 6.03 | 2 | 2 | Texas |
| 6 | Western Athletic Conference | 8 | 80 | 43 | 37 | 0 | .538 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.44 | 1.69 | 0 | 0 | Arizona State | |
| 7 | Independent | 27 | 269 | 135 | 129 | 5 | .511 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | -1.10 | -1.33 | 3 | 4 | |
| 8 | Mid-American Conference | 7 | 71 | 41 | 29 | 1 | .585 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | -1.33 | -4.66 | 0 | 0 | Toledo |
| 9 | Pacific Coast Athletic Association | 7 | 71 | 40 | 31 | 0 | .563 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | -5.23 | -6.11 | 0 | 0 | San Diego State |
| 10 | Atlantic Coast Conference | 8 | 81 | 31 | 48 | 2 | .395 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | -6.67 | -2.31 | 0 | 0 | South Carolina |
| 11 | Missouri Valley Conference | 6 | 60 | 27 | 32 | 1 | .458 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6.84 | -3.91 | 0 | 0 | Memphis | |
| 12 | Ivy Group | 8 | 72 | 35 | 37 | 0 | .486 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -9.27 | -9.52 | 0 | 0 | Dartmouth Princeton Yale |
|
| 13 | Southern Conference | 7 | 70 | 26 | 43 | 1 | .379 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | -14.75 | -9.98 | 0 | 0 | Davidson Richmond |
| School | Conf | Pre | 9/22 | 9/29 | 10/6 | 10/13 | 10/20 | 10/27 | 11/3 | 11/10 | 11/17 | 11/24 | 12/1 | 12/8 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | SWC | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Penn State | Ind | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Southern California | Pac-8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Ohio State | Big Ten | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Notre Dame | Ind | 11 | 9 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 5 | |
| Missouri | Big 8 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Arkansas | SWC | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Mississippi | SEC | 9 | 8 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 8 | ||
| Michigan | Big Ten | 20 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | |||
| Louisiana State | SEC | 16 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | ||
| Nebraska | Big 8 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 11 | ||||||
| Houston | Ind | 7 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 12 | |||||||
| UCLA | Pac-8 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 |
| Florida | SEC | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 14 | |
| Tennessee | SEC | 15 | 19 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 15 |
| Colorado | Big 8 | 18 | 16 | ||||||||||||
| West Virginia | Ind | 18 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 17 | |||||||
| Purdue | Big Ten | 18 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 18 |
| Stanford | Pac-8 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 19 | |
| Auburn | SEC | 20 | 17 | 20 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 20 | |
| School | Conf | Pre | 9/22 | 9/29 | 10/6 | 10/13 | 10/20 | 10/27 | 11/3 | 11/10 | 11/17 | 11/24 | 12/1 | 12/8 | Final |
| Air Force | Ind | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | ||||||||||
| Alabama | SEC | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 20 | |||||||||
| Arizona State | WAC | 18 | |||||||||||||
| Georgia | SEC | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 16 | |||||
| Indiana | Big Ten | 14 | 10 | ||||||||||||
| Kansas State | Big 8 | 18 | 12 | 15 | |||||||||||
| Michigan State | Big Ten | 12 | 13 | 14 | 19 | ||||||||||
| Minnesota | Big Ten | 19 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | Big 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 20 | |||||||
| Toledo | MAC | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | ||||||||||
| Wyoming | WAC | 19 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
|
Offense Bob Anderson, B, Colorado Jim Otis, B, Ohio State Steve Owens*, B, Oklahoma Mike Phipps*, B, Purdue Carlos Alvarez, E, Florida Walker Gillette, E, Richmond Jim Mandich, E, Michigan Rodney Brand, OL, Arkansas Bill Bridges, OL, Houston Chip Kell, OL, Tennessee Bob Mckay, OL, Texas John Ward, OL, Oklahoma State |
Defense Jim Gunn, DL, Southern California Mike Mccoy*, DL, Notre Dame Phil Olsen, DL, Utah State Mike Reid*, DL, Penn State Jim Stillwagon, DL, Ohio State Mike Ballou, LB, UCLA Steve Kiner*, LB, Tennessee Dennis Onkotz, LB, Penn State Tom Curtis, DB, Michigan Buddy Mcclinton, DB, Auburn Jack Tatum, DB, Ohio State |