Decade leaderboard

Top 25 College Football Games of the 1870s

Every completed game in the decade, scored without team allegiance by game-time AP poll strength, final-score closeness, and overtime.

Games: 25
Top score: 35/100
Overtime: 0

National ranking

The decade's top 25

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

1879Week 10
Stevens at Rutgers
Stevens 0, Rutgers 0
Unranked Stevens vs. Unranked Rutgers · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1879Week 9
Stevens at Stevens Alumni
Stevens 0, Stevens Alumni 0
Unranked Stevens vs. Unranked Stevens Alumni · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1879Week 8
Princeton at Yale
Princeton 0, Yale 0
Unranked Princeton vs. Unranked Yale · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1879Week 7
Rutgers at Stevens
Rutgers 3, Stevens 3
Unranked Rutgers vs. Unranked Stevens · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1879Week 7
Columbia at Rutgers
Columbia 0, Rutgers 0
Unranked Columbia vs. Unranked Rutgers · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1879Week 5
Yale at Harvard
Yale 0, Harvard 0
Unranked Yale vs. Unranked Harvard · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1879Week 4
McGill at Harvard
McGill 0, Harvard 0
Unranked McGill vs. Unranked Harvard · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1879Week 3
Stevens at Columbia
Stevens 0, Columbia 0
Unranked Stevens vs. Unranked Columbia · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1879Week 1
Stevens at Stevens Alumni
Stevens 0, Stevens Alumni 0
Unranked Stevens vs. Unranked Stevens Alumni · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1878Week 5
Pennsylvania at Columbia
Pennsylvania 0, Columbia 0
Unranked Pennsylvania vs. Unranked Columbia · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1878Week 4
Columbia at Stevens
Columbia 0, Stevens 0
Unranked Columbia vs. Unranked Stevens · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1878Week 3
Rutgers at Stevens
Rutgers 0, Stevens 0
Unranked Rutgers vs. Unranked Stevens · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1877Week 6
Princeton at Yale
Princeton 0, Yale 0
Unranked Princeton vs. Unranked Yale · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1875Week 4
Rutgers at Columbia
Rutgers 1, Columbia 1
Unranked Rutgers vs. Unranked Columbia · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1872Week 1
Columbia at Rutgers
Columbia 0, Rutgers 0
Unranked Columbia vs. Unranked Rutgers · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1879Week 6
Harvard at Princeton
Harvard 0, Princeton 1
Unranked Harvard vs. Unranked Princeton · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1879Week 6
Rutgers at Stevens
Rutgers 1, Stevens 0
Unranked Rutgers vs. Unranked Stevens · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1879Week 5
Columbia at Pennsylvania
Columbia 0, Pennsylvania 1
Unranked Columbia vs. Unranked Pennsylvania · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1879Week 3
Harvard at Britannia
Harvard 1, Britannia 0
Unranked Harvard vs. Unranked Britannia · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1878Week 8
City College of New York at Rutgers
City College of New York 0, Rutgers 1
Unranked City College of New York vs. Unranked Rutgers · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1878Week 7
Yale at Princeton
Yale 0, Princeton 1
Unranked Yale vs. Unranked Princeton · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1878Week 6
Yale at Harvard
Yale 1, Harvard 0
Unranked Yale vs. Unranked Harvard · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1878Week 5
Harvard at Princeton
Harvard 0, Princeton 1
Unranked Harvard vs. Unranked Princeton · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1878Week 5
Amherst at Yale
Amherst 0, Yale 1
Unranked Amherst vs. Unranked Yale · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1878Week 4
Princeton at Pennsylvania
Princeton 2, Pennsylvania 1
Unranked Princeton vs. Unranked Pennsylvania · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
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.

Regular-season rankings use the AP Top 25 recorded for the game's week. Postseason games use the final regular-season AP poll published before bowl and playoff results. Overtime uses period scoring when available, then explicit overtime notes as a fallback. Older decades may have less complete poll, period, and box-score data.