Conference Summary
| Overall | Bowls | SRS | Polls | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Conference | Schs | G | W | L | T | Pct | G | W | L | T | Pct | SRS | SOS | Pre | Final | Champion |
| 1 | Western Conference | 9 | 81 | 44 | 33 | 5 | .567 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 12.54 | 10.09 | 0 | 3 | Illinois |
| 2 | Southeastern Conference | 12 | 118 | 74 | 47 | 1 | .611 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .625 | 11.58 | 7.56 | 0 | 4 | Georgia, Tennessee |
| 3 | Southwest Conference | 7 | 69 | 34 | 33 | 4 | .507 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .750 | 6.35 | 5.13 | 0 | 3 | Arkansas, Rice |
| 4 | Southern Conference | 16 | 145 | 74 | 67 | 7 | .524 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 3.84 | 2.80 | 0 | 2 | North Carolina |
| 5 | Independent | 39 | 350 | 182 | 157 | 13 | .536 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | 1.93 | 0.64 | 0 | 4 | Montana State |
| 6 | Pacific Coast Conference | 10 | 91 | 46 | 42 | 4 | .522 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | -1.48 | -1.66 | 0 | 1 | UCLA |
| 7 | Big Six Conference | 6 | 57 | 25 | 30 | 3 | .457 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | -4.27 | -1.12 | 0 | 1 | Kansas, Oklahoma |
| 8 | Missouri Valley Conference | 5 | 50 | 23 | 25 | 2 | .480 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6.36 | -5.68 | 0 | 1 | Tulsa | |
| 9 | Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association | 9 | 91 | 48 | 37 | 8 | .559 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .750 | -8.07 | -9.88 | 0 | 0 | Hardin-Simmons |
| 10 | Mountain States Athletic Conference | 7 | 69 | 33 | 33 | 5 | .500 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | -10.99 | -10.20 | 0 | 0 | Denver, Utah State |
Award Winners
| Award | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| Heisman Memorial Trophy | Glenn Davis | Army |
| John Outland Trophy | George Connor | Notre Dame |
| Maxwell Award | Charley Trippi | Georgia |
| AFCA Coach of the Year Award | Red Blaik | Army |


Consensus All-Americans