Decade leaderboard
Top 25 College Football Games of the 1940s
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
- 78/100
- Overtime
- 0
National ranking
The decade'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.
- 1947PostseasonNeutral site
SMU vs. Penn State
SMU 13, Penn State 13
No. 4 SMU vs. No. 5 Penn State · 0-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
78
Game score
- 1949PostseasonNeutral site
California vs. Ohio State
California 14, Ohio State 17
No. 2 California vs. No. 5 Ohio State · 3-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
77
Game score
- 1942Week 3
Wisconsin at Notre Dame
Wisconsin 7, Notre Dame 7
No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 Notre Dame · 0-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
77
Game score
- 1947Week 8
Texas at SMU
Texas 13, SMU 14
No. 7 Texas vs. No. 3 SMU · 1-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
76
Game score
- 1941Week 7
Northwestern at Minnesota
Northwestern 7, Minnesota 8
No. 9 Northwestern vs. No. 1 Minnesota · 1-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
76
Game score
- 1941Week 6
Minnesota at Michigan
Minnesota 7, Michigan 0
No. 1 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Michigan · 7-point margin
Ranking 46/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
74
Game score
- 1942Week 4
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame
Georgia Tech 13, Notre Dame 6
No. 3 Georgia Tech vs. No. 4 Notre Dame · 7-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
- 1940PostseasonNeutral site
Tennessee vs. Boston College
Tennessee 13, Boston College 19
No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 4 Boston College · 6-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
71
Game score
- 1945Week 8
Navy at Pennsylvania
Navy 14, Pennsylvania 7
No. 2 Navy vs. No. 8 Pennsylvania · 7-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
- 1946Week 7
Illinois at Michigan
Illinois 13, Michigan 9
No. 5 Illinois vs. No. 8 Michigan · 4-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
- 1941PostseasonNeutral site
Missouri vs. Fordham
Missouri 0, Fordham 2
No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 8 Fordham · 2-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
- 1943Week 5
Duke at Navy
Duke 13, Navy 14
No. 9 Duke vs. No. 7 Navy · 1-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
- 1940PostseasonNeutral site
Fordham vs. Texas A&M
Fordham 12, Texas A&M 13
No. 14 Fordham vs. No. 2 Texas A&M · 1-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
- 1948PostseasonNeutral site
North Carolina vs. Oklahoma
North Carolina 6, Oklahoma 14
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 6 Oklahoma · 8-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15
69
Game score
- 1948PostseasonNeutral site
California vs. Northwestern
California 14, Northwestern 20
No. 5 California vs. No. 7 Northwestern · 6-point margin
Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
69
Game score
- 1948Week 7
Penn State at Michigan State
Penn State 14, Michigan State 14
No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 12 Michigan State · 0-point margin
Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
69
Game score
- 1940PostseasonNeutral site
Nebraska vs. Stanford
Nebraska 13, Stanford 21
No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 3 Stanford · 8-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
- 1946Week 5
Army at Michigan
Army 20, Michigan 13
No. 1 Army vs. No. 11 Michigan · 7-point margin
Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
- 1946PostseasonNeutral site
Arkansas vs. LSU
Arkansas 0, LSU 0
No. 10 Arkansas vs. No. 9 LSU · 0-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
- 1949Week 7
Minnesota at Michigan
Minnesota 7, Michigan 14
No. 8 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Michigan · 7-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
- 1944Week 8
Duke at Navy
Duke 0, Navy 7
No. 11 Duke vs. No. 2 Navy · 7-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
- 1940Week 4
Nebraska at Minnesota
Nebraska 7, Minnesota 13
No. 12 Nebraska vs. No. 2 Minnesota · 6-point margin
Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
- 1947Week 5
Army at Illinois
Army 0, Illinois 0
No. 9 Army vs. No. 11 Illinois · 0-point margin
Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
- 1949Week 5
Army at Michigan
Army 21, Michigan 7
No. 2 Army vs. No. 5 Michigan · 14-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 21/35 · Overtime 0/15
66
Game score
- 1942Week 3
TCU at UCLA
TCU 7, UCLA 6
No. 9 TCU vs. No. 11 UCLA · 1-point margin
Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
66
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.