Southeastern Conference history

Conference record book

Southeastern Conference Top 25 Games of the 1940s

The best games involving a SEC member at the time of kickoff, ranked without favoring either side.

Games
25
Top score
73/100
Overtime
0

National ranking

The conference's top 25

25 of these games include at least one AP-ranked team at kickoff. Open a supported game for its box score and statistics.

  1. 1942Week 4

    Georgia Tech at Notre Dame

    Georgia Tech 13, Notre Dame 6

    Nonconference

    No. 3 Georgia Tech vs. No. 4 Notre Dame · 7-point margin

    Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    73

    Game score

  2. 1940PostseasonNeutral site

    Tennessee vs. Boston College

    Tennessee 13, Boston College 19

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 4 Boston College · 6-point margin

    Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15

    71

    Game score

  3. 1943Week 5

    Duke at Navy

    Duke 13, Navy 14

    Nonconference

    No. 9 Duke vs. No. 7 Navy · 1-point margin

    Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15

    70

    Game score

  4. 1948PostseasonNeutral site

    North Carolina vs. Oklahoma

    North Carolina 6, Oklahoma 14

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 6 Oklahoma · 8-point margin

    Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15

    69

    Game score

  5. 1946PostseasonNeutral site

    Arkansas vs. LSU

    Arkansas 0, LSU 0

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 10 Arkansas vs. No. 9 LSU · 0-point margin

    Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15

    68

    Game score

  6. 1944Week 8

    Duke at Navy

    Duke 0, Navy 7

    Nonconference

    No. 11 Duke vs. No. 2 Navy · 7-point margin

    Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    67

    Game score

  7. 1942PostseasonNeutral site

    Tulsa vs. Tennessee

    Tulsa 7, Tennessee 14

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 6 Tulsa vs. No. 10 Tennessee · 7-point margin

    Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    64

    Game score

  8. 1946Week 3

    Georgia Tech at Tennessee

    Georgia Tech 9, Tennessee 13

    Conference game

    No. 15 Georgia Tech vs. No. 4 Tennessee · 4-point margin

    Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    64

    Game score

  9. 1942PostseasonNeutral site

    Boston College vs. Alabama

    Boston College 21, Alabama 37

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 7 Alabama · 16-point margin

    Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 19/35 · Overtime 0/15

    63

    Game score

  10. 1946PostseasonNeutral site

    North Carolina vs. Georgia

    North Carolina 10, Georgia 20

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Georgia · 10-point margin

    Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15

    63

    Game score

  11. 1941PostseasonNeutral site

    Oregon State vs. Duke

    Oregon State 20, Duke 16

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 17 Oregon State vs. No. 3 Duke · 4-point margin

    Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    63

    Game score

  12. 1942PostseasonNeutral site

    Georgia vs. UCLA

    Georgia 9, UCLA 0

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 11 UCLA · 9-point margin

    Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 26/35 · Overtime 0/15

    62

    Game score

  13. 1946Week 8

    North Carolina at Tennessee

    North Carolina 14, Tennessee 20

    Nonconference

    No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 8 Tennessee · 6-point margin

    Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15

    62

    Game score

  14. 1943Week 8

    Duke at Georgia Tech

    Duke 14, Georgia Tech 7

    Nonconference

    No. 5 Duke vs. No. 14 Georgia Tech · 7-point margin

    Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    61

    Game score

  15. 1942PostseasonNeutral site

    Georgia Tech vs. Texas

    Georgia Tech 7, Texas 14

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 2 Georgia Tech vs. No. 18 Texas · 7-point margin

    Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    60

    Game score

  16. 1940PostseasonNeutral site

    Georgetown vs. Mississippi State

    Georgetown 7, Mississippi State 14

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 9 Georgetown vs. No. 11 Mississippi State · 7-point margin

    Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    60

    Game score

  17. 1942Week 6

    Tennessee at Alabama

    Tennessee 0, Alabama 8

    Conference game

    No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 9 Alabama · 8-point margin

    Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15

    59

    Game score

  18. 1941PostseasonNeutral site

    Texas A&M vs. Alabama

    Texas A&M 21, Alabama 29

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 18 Alabama · 8-point margin

    Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15

    59

    Game score

  19. 1948Week 4

    North Carolina at Georgia

    North Carolina 21, Georgia 14

    Nonconference

    No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 18 Georgia · 7-point margin

    Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    59

    Game score

  20. 1947PostseasonNeutral site

    Kansas vs. Georgia Tech

    Kansas 14, Georgia Tech 20

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 13 Kansas vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech · 6-point margin

    Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15

    59

    Game score

  21. 1946PostseasonNeutral site

    Tennessee vs. Rice

    Tennessee 0, Rice 8

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 13 Rice · 8-point margin

    Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15

    58

    Game score

  22. 1949Week 4

    Rice at LSU

    Rice 7, LSU 14

    Nonconference

    No. 5 Rice vs. No. 17 LSU · 7-point margin

    Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    58

    Game score

  23. 1942Week 2

    Georgia at Kentucky

    Georgia 7, Kentucky 6

    Conference game

    No. 2 Georgia vs. Unranked Kentucky · 1-point margin

    Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15

    58

    Game score

  24. 1940Week 4

    Duke at Tennessee

    Duke 0, Tennessee 13

    Nonconference

    No. 12 Duke vs. No. 5 Tennessee · 13-point margin

    Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15

    57

    Game score

  25. 1944PostseasonNeutral site

    Alabama vs. Duke

    Alabama 26, Duke 29

    Postseason · Neutral site

    No. 16 Alabama vs. No. 11 Duke · 3-point margin

    Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    57

    Game score

Methodology

How each game earns up to 100 points

AP ranking, 50 points: each team earns 26 minus its game-time AP rank. Unranked teams receive zero.

Closeness, 35 points: the final margin is subtracted from 35, with margins of 35 or more receiving zero.

Overtime, 15 points: overtime starts at nine points and rises by two per additional period, capped at 15.

Conference inclusion comes from each team's conference ID stored on the game row, so later realignment never rewrites history. Regular-season AP ranks come from the game's week; postseason ranks use the final regular-season poll before bowl and playoff results.