Conference record book

Atlantic Coast Conference Top 25 Games of the 1980s

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

Games: 25
Top score: 80/100
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.

1982Week 2
North Carolina at Pittsburgh
North Carolina 6, Pittsburgh 7
Nonconference
No. 5 North Carolina vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh · 1-point margin
Ranking 46/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
80
Game score
1981PostseasonNeutral site
Nebraska vs. Clemson
Nebraska 15, Clemson 22
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 1 Clemson · 7-point margin
Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
75
Game score
Full Game · 1981 Clemson vs. Nebraska (Bowl Full Game)
1981Week 10
Clemson at North Carolina
Clemson 10, North Carolina 8
Conference game
No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 8 North Carolina · 2-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
75
Game score
1988Week 4
Florida State at Clemson
Florida State 24, Clemson 21
Nonconference
No. 10 Florida State vs. No. 3 Clemson · 3-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
71
Game score
1983Week 10
North Carolina at Maryland
North Carolina 26, Maryland 28
Conference game
No. 10 North Carolina vs. No. 7 Maryland · 2-point margin
Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
1983Week 11
Maryland at Auburn
Maryland 23, Auburn 35
Nonconference
No. 11 Maryland vs. No. 3 Auburn · 12-point margin
Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 23/35 · Overtime 0/15
61
Game score
1982PostseasonNeutral site
Maryland vs. Washington
Maryland 20, Washington 21
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 16 Maryland vs. No. 9 Washington · 1-point margin
Ranking 27/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
61
Game score
1984Week 5
Clemson at Georgia
Clemson 23, Georgia 26
Nonconference
No. 13 Clemson vs. No. 12 Georgia · 3-point margin
Ranking 27/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
1985Week 2
Penn State at Maryland
Penn State 20, Maryland 18
Nonconference
No. 19 Penn State vs. No. 7 Maryland · 2-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
1988PostseasonNeutral site
Oklahoma vs. Clemson
Oklahoma 6, Clemson 13
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 13 Clemson · 7-point margin
Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
1987Week 4
Georgia at Clemson
Georgia 20, Clemson 21
Nonconference
No. 20 Georgia vs. No. 9 Clemson · 1-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
1981PostseasonNeutral site
Arkansas vs. North Carolina
Arkansas 27, North Carolina 31
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 16 Arkansas vs. No. 11 North Carolina · 4-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
1986Week 11
Maryland at Penn State
Maryland 15, Penn State 17
Nonconference
Unranked Maryland vs. No. 3 Penn State · 2-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
1982Week 11
Clemson at Maryland
Clemson 24, Maryland 22
Conference game
No. 11 Clemson vs. No. 18 Maryland · 2-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
1987Week 13
Clemson at South Carolina
Clemson 7, South Carolina 20
Nonconference
No. 13 Clemson vs. No. 8 South Carolina · 13-point margin
Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
1982Week 10
North Carolina at Clemson
North Carolina 13, Clemson 16
Conference game
No. 18 North Carolina vs. No. 13 Clemson · 3-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
1984Week 14
South Carolina at Clemson
South Carolina 22, Clemson 21
Nonconference
No. 7 South Carolina vs. Unranked Clemson · 1-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
1989PostseasonNeutral site
Virginia vs. Illinois
Virginia 21, Illinois 31
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 15 Virginia vs. No. 11 Illinois · 10-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
51
Game score
1984PostseasonNeutral site
Purdue vs. Virginia
Purdue 24, Virginia 27
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 14 Purdue vs. No. 19 Virginia · 3-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
51
Game score
1983Week 14
Georgia at Georgia Tech
Georgia 27, Georgia Tech 24
Nonconference
No. 7 Georgia vs. Unranked Georgia Tech · 3-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
51
Game score
1989Week 2
Clemson at Florida State
Clemson 34, Florida State 23
Nonconference
No. 10 Clemson vs. No. 16 Florida State · 11-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 24/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
Game score
1989Week 5
Clemson at Duke
Clemson 17, Duke 21
Conference game
No. 7 Clemson vs. Unranked Duke · 4-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
Game score
1985Week 8
Auburn at Georgia Tech
Auburn 17, Georgia Tech 14
Nonconference
No. 8 Auburn vs. Unranked Georgia Tech · 3-point margin
Ranking 18/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
Game score
1984Week 11
South Carolina at NC State
South Carolina 35, NC State 28
Nonconference
No. 5 South Carolina vs. Unranked NC State · 7-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
49
Game score
1987Week 11
Clemson at North Carolina
Clemson 13, North Carolina 10
Conference game
No. 9 Clemson vs. Unranked North Carolina · 3-point margin
Ranking 17/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
49
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.