Note: These rankings are not neccesarily identical to those posted before the 2002 season. I have subsequently altered my algorithms, and here I show retrospectively what my current methods would have said for the season...
| rank | team | power |
| 1 | Miami | 79.86 |
| 2 | Florida State | 78.54 |
| 3 | Florida | 78.38 |
| 4 | Texas | 72.71 |
| 5 | Nebraska | 70.74 |
| 6 | Michigan | 70.53 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 69.81 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 69.56 |
| 9 | Kansas State | 68.35 |
| 10 | Colorado | 66.95 |
| 11 | Alabama | 66.25 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | 65.90 |
| 13 | Georgia | 64.76 |
| 14 | Virginia Tech | 64.46 |
| 15 | Washington | 64.19 |
| 16 | Oregon | 64.10 |
| 17 | Boston College | 64.05 |
| 18 | Texas Tech | 64.00 |
| 19 | Southern Cal | 63.43 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 63.29 |
| 21 | UCLA | 62.34 |
| 22 | Ohio State | 62.18 |
| 23 | Michigan State | 61.25 |
| 24 | Purdue | 61.06 |
| 25 | L.S.U. | 60.95 |
| 26 | Syracuse | 60.85 |
| 27 | Washington State | 60.47 |
| 28 | Penn State | 59.24 |
| 29 | Louisville | 59.08 |
| 30 | Utah | 58.91 |
| 31 | Illinois | 58.31 |
| 32 | Oregon State | 58.20 |
| 33 | Georgia Tech | 58.00 |
| 34 | Auburn | 57.95 |
| 35 | Marshall | 57.41 |
| 36 | Arizona | 57.12 |
| 37 | Southern Miss | 57.04 |
| 38 | Ole Miss | 56.42 |
| 39 | Iowa | 56.40 |
| 40 | Wisconsin | 56.40 |
| 41 | Stanford | 56.24 |
| 42 | Fresno State | 55.86 |
| 43 | North Carolina | 55.31 |
| 44 | North Carolina State | 54.88 |
| 45 | Clemson | 54.79 |
| 46 | Maryland | 54.49 |
| 47 | Arkansas | 54.39 |
| 48 | Mississippi State | 54.10 |
| 49 | Virginia | 54.09 |
| 50 | Pittsburgh | 53.67 |
| 51 | Arizona State | 53.35 |
| 52 | South Carolina | 53.29 |
| 53 | Iowa State | 53.24 |
| 54 | Minnesota | 52.64 |
| 55 | B.Y.U. | 52.40 |
| 56 | Colorado State | 52.32 |
| 57 | Indiana | 51.48 |
| 58 | Oklahoma State | 51.37 |
| 59 | West Virginia | 51.20 |
| 60 | Boise State | 51.06 |
| 61 | East Carolina | 50.88 |
| 62 | Cincinnati | 49.85 |
| 63 | Missouri | 49.24 |
| 64 | Wake Forest | 49.23 |
| 65 | Central Florida | 49.11 |
| 66 | T.C.U. | 48.72 |
| 67 | Toledo | 48.65 |
| 68 | Miami (Ohio) | 48.24 |
| 69 | Bowling Green | 48.11 |
| 70 | Hawaii | 47.78 |
| 71 | New Mexico | 47.72 |
| 72 | Northwestern | 47.47 |
| 73 | California | 47.28 |
| 74 | Kentucky | 47.20 |
| 75 | Memphis | 47.06 |
| 76 | Louisiana Tech | 44.61 |
| 77 | South Florida | 44.07 |
| 78 | UNLV | 44.07 |
| 79 | Air Force | 43.37 |
| 80 | Temple | 43.20 |
| 81 | Northern Illinois | 42.32 |
| 82 | U.A.B. | 42.14 |
| 83 | Western Michigan | 42.05 |
| 84 | Tulane | 41.39 |
| 85 | San Diego State | 40.58 |
| 86 | Kansas | 40.43 |
| 87 | Vanderbilt | 40.40 |
| 88 | Baylor | 40.12 |
| 89 | Rice | 39.68 |
| 90 | Wyoming | 39.60 |
| 91 | Ball State | 38.89 |
| 92 | Troy | 38.54 |
| 93 | Middle Tennessee State | 38.41 |
| 94 | Nevada | 37.45 |
| 95 | North Texas | 37.32 |
| 96 | Akron | 37.07 |
| 97 | Ohio | 36.34 |
| 98 | S.M.U. | 36.09 |
| 99 | Utah State | 35.64 |
| 100 | Central Michigan | 34.88 |
| 101 | Duke | 34.80 |
| 102 | Kent State | 34.80 |
| 103 | Idaho | 33.88 |
| 104 | San Jose State | 33.66 |
| 105 | UTEP | 32.71 |
| 106 | Rutgers | 32.42 |
| 107 | Army | 32.34 |
| 108 | Houston | 32.11 |
| 109 | Tulsa | 31.81 |
| 110 | Navy | 30.83 |
| 111 | New Mexico State | 30.42 |
| 112 | Connecticut | 26.76 |
| 113 | Eastern Michigan | 24.89 |
| 114 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 24.61 |
| 115 | Louisiana-Monroe | 24.30 |
| 116 | Arkansas State | 22.95 |
| 117 | Buffalo | 21.89 |