| Rk | Team | Record | Rating | Conference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania | (15-0-0) | 0.6804 | Independent | |
| 2 | Princeton | (10-1-0) | 0.6290 | Independent | |
| 3 | Yale | (9-0-2) | 0.6142 | Independent | |
| 4 | Harvard | (10-1-1) | 0.5540 | Independent | |
| 5 | Army | (6-1-1) | 0.5198 | Independent | |
| 6 | Lafayette | (9-2-1) | 0.4216 | Independent | |
| 7 | Chicago | (11-1-0) | 0.4111 | Western | |
| 8 | Navy | (7-1-0) | 0.3920 | Independent | |
| 9 | Wisconsin | (9-1-0) | 0.3889 | Western | |
| 10 | Brown | (7-4-0) | 0.3310 | Independent | |
| 11 | Cornell | (5-3-1) | 0.3222 | Independent | |
| 12 | Carlisle | (6-4-0) | 0.3201 | Independent | |
| 13 | Michigan | (6-1-1) | 0.2896 | Western | |
| 14 | Illinois | (6-2-0) | 0.2449 | Western | |
| 15 | Virginia | (6-2-1) | 0.2406 | Independent | |
| 16 | Dartmouth | (4-3-0) | 0.2242 | Independent | |
| 17 | Wesleyan | (6-7-0) | 0.1976 | Independent | |
| 18 | Dickinson | (7-3-2) | 0.1571 | Independent | |
| 19 | Northwestern | (5-3-0) | 0.1042 | Western | |
| 20 | Penn State | (3-6-0) | 0.1000 | Independent | |
| 21 | Trinity (Connecticut) | (4-4-1) | 0.0947 | Independent | |
| 22 | Bucknell | (3-3-1) | 0.0884 | Independent | |
| 23 | Lehigh | (3-7-0) | 0.0521 | Independent | |
| 24 | Minnesota | (4-4-0) | -0.0059 | Western | |
| 25 | Purdue | (5-3-1) | -0.0155 | Western | |
| 26 | Tufts | (6-7-0) | -0.0371 | Independent | |
| 27 | Franklin & Marshall | (2-6-2) | -0.0944 | Independent | |
| 28 | Beloit | (0-3-0) | -0.1314 | Independent | |
| 29 | Amherst | (2-6-2) | -0.1621 | Independent | |
| 30 | Bloomsburg | (0-4-0) | -0.2230 | Independent | |
| 31 | Lake Forest | (0-3-0) | -0.2557 | Independent | |
| 32 | Williams | (1-7-1) | -0.2977 | Independent | |
| 33 | Massachusetts | (0-3-0) | -0.5474 | Independent |
Average Ratings by Conference (1897)
| Rk | Conference | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western | 0.2025 | |
| 2 | Independent | 0.1612 |