| Rk | Team | Record | Rating | Conference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton | (10-0-1) | 0.6709 | Independent | |
| 2 | Yale | (13-1-0) | 0.5948 | Independent | |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | (14-1-0) | 0.5870 | Independent | |
| 4 | Lafayette | (11-0-1) | 0.5156 | Independent | |
| 5 | Michigan | (9-1-0) | 0.4497 | Western | |
| 6 | Wisconsin | (7-1-1) | 0.4456 | Western | |
| 7 | Northwestern | (6-1-2) | 0.3971 | Western | |
| 8 | Chicago | (15-2-1) | 0.3855 | Western | |
| 9 | Dartmouth | (5-2-1) | 0.3489 | Independent | |
| 10 | Harvard | (7-4-0) | 0.3411 | Independent | |
| 11 | Minnesota | (8-2-0) | 0.3198 | Western | |
| 12 | Army | (3-2-1) | 0.3046 | Independent | |
| 13 | Carlisle | (5-5-0) | 0.2997 | Independent | |
| 14 | Brown | (4-5-1) | 0.2811 | Independent | |
| 15 | Illinois | (4-2-1) | 0.2645 | Western | |
| 16 | Cornell | (5-3-1) | 0.2577 | Independent | |
| 17 | Williams | (6-4-1) | 0.2394 | Independent | |
| 18 | Bucknell | (5-2-1) | 0.2142 | Independent | |
| 19 | Purdue | (4-2-1) | 0.2059 | Western | |
| 20 | Wesleyan | (4-5-1) | 0.1838 | Independent | |
| 21 | Navy | (5-3-0) | 0.1794 | Independent | |
| 22 | Trinity (Connecticut) | (5-3-1) | 0.1642 | Independent | |
| 23 | Penn State | (3-4-0) | 0.0871 | Independent | |
| 24 | Amherst | (3-6-1) | 0.0778 | Independent | |
| 25 | Dickinson | (4-5-0) | 0.0664 | Independent | |
| 26 | Lake Forest | (3-4-1) | 0.0227 | Independent | |
| 27 | Bowdoin | (5-3-2) | 0.0163 | Independent | |
| 28 | Lehigh | (2-5-0) | -0.0043 | Independent | |
| 29 | Franklin & Marshall | (3-4-2) | -0.0059 | Independent | |
| 30 | Oberlin | (0-3-0) | -0.1288 | Independent | |
| 31 | Andover | (1-2-0) | -0.1490 | Independent | |
| 32 | Tufts | (2-6-1) | -0.2107 | Independent | |
| 33 | Gettysburg | (1-3-0) | -0.2736 | Independent | |
| 34 | Worcester Tech | (0-4-0) | -0.4317 | Independent | |
| 35 | Rutgers | (0-3-0) | -0.4757 | Independent |
Average Ratings by Conference (1896)
| Rk | Conference | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western | 0.3526 | |
| 2 | Independent | 0.1348 |