Decade leaderboard
Top 25 College Football Games of the 1970s
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
- 82/100
- 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.
- 1979PostseasonNeutral site
Ohio State vs. USC
Ohio State 16, USC 17
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 3 USC · 1-point margin
Ranking 48/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
82
Game score
- 1973PostseasonNeutral site
Alabama vs. Notre Dame
Alabama 23, Notre Dame 24
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 3 Notre Dame · 1-point margin
Ranking 48/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
82
Game score
Full Game · 1973 Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Alabama (Full Game)
- 1971Week 12
Nebraska at Oklahoma
Nebraska 35, Oklahoma 31
No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 2 Oklahoma · 4-point margin
Ranking 49/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
80
Game score
- 1973Week 13
Michigan at Ohio State
Michigan 10, Ohio State 10
No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 3 Ohio State · 0-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
80
Game score
- 1977Week 4
Oklahoma at Ohio State
Oklahoma 29, Ohio State 28
No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Ohio State · 1-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
79
Game score
- 1978Week 11
Oklahoma at Nebraska
Oklahoma 14, Nebraska 17
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 Nebraska · 3-point margin
Ranking 46/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
78
Game score
- 1974Week 12
Michigan at Ohio State
Michigan 10, Ohio State 12
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 4 Ohio State · 2-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
78
Game score
- 1974PostseasonNeutral site
Ohio State vs. USC
Ohio State 17, USC 18
No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 5 USC · 1-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
78
Game score
- 1978PostseasonNeutral site
Penn State vs. Alabama
Penn State 7, Alabama 14
No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 2 Alabama · 7-point margin
Ranking 49/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
77
Game score
- 1973Week 5
USC at Oklahoma
USC 7, Oklahoma 7
No. 4 USC vs. No. 6 Oklahoma · 0-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
77
Game score
- 1977Week 6
Alabama at USC
Alabama 21, USC 20
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 6 USC · 1-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
76
Game score
- 1970Week 4
USC at Nebraska
USC 21, Nebraska 21
No. 5 USC vs. No. 6 Nebraska · 0-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
76
Game score
- 1975Week 12
Ohio State at Michigan
Ohio State 21, Michigan 14
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Michigan · 7-point margin
Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
75
Game score
- 1972Week 12
Oklahoma at Nebraska
Oklahoma 17, Nebraska 14
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Nebraska · 3-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
75
Game score
Full Game · 1972 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma (Regular Season Full Game)
- 1972Week 13
Alabama at Auburn
Alabama 16, Auburn 17
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 9 Auburn · 1-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
75
Game score
Full Game · Punt, Bama, Punt: Auburn vs. Alabama (Full Game)
- 1976PostseasonNeutral site
Michigan vs. USC
Michigan 6, USC 14
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 USC · 8-point margin
Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15
74
Game score
- 1970PostseasonNeutral site
LSU vs. Nebraska
LSU 12, Nebraska 17
No. 5 LSU vs. No. 3 Nebraska · 5-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
74
Game score
- 1974Week 13
Auburn at Alabama
Auburn 13, Alabama 17
No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 2 Alabama · 4-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
74
Game score
- 1974PostseasonNeutral site
Alabama vs. Notre Dame
Alabama 11, Notre Dame 13
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 9 Notre Dame · 2-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
74
Game score
- 1975Week 6
Texas at Oklahoma
Texas 17, Oklahoma 24
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 2 Oklahoma · 7-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
- 1978PostseasonNeutral site
Michigan vs. USC
Michigan 10, USC 17
No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 3 USC · 7-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
- 1977Week 7
Texas at Arkansas
Texas 13, Arkansas 9
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 9 Arkansas · 4-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
- 1972PostseasonNeutral site
Alabama vs. Texas
Alabama 13, Texas 17
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 7 Texas · 4-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
- 1979Week 13
Nebraska at Oklahoma
Nebraska 14, Oklahoma 17
No. 7 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Oklahoma · 3-point margin
Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
- 1972Week 12
Michigan at Ohio State
Michigan 11, Ohio State 14
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 9 Ohio State · 3-point margin
Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
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.