Season leaderboard
Top 25 College Football Games of 1961
Every completed game in the season, scored without team allegiance by game-time AP poll strength, final-score closeness, and overtime.
- Games
- 25
- Top score
- 73/100
- Overtime
- 0
National ranking
The season'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.
- 1961PostseasonNeutral site
Ole Miss vs. Texas
Ole Miss 7, Texas 12
No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 4 Texas · 5-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
- 1961Week 8
Ole Miss at LSU
Ole Miss 7, LSU 10
No. 7 Ole Miss vs. No. 4 LSU · 3-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
- 1961PostseasonNeutral site
Arkansas vs. Alabama
Arkansas 3, Alabama 10
No. 9 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Alabama · 7-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
- 1961Week 9
Michigan State at Purdue
Michigan State 6, Purdue 7
No. 9 Michigan State vs. No. 7 Purdue · 1-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
- 1961Week 6
Notre Dame at Michigan State
Notre Dame 7, Michigan State 17
No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Michigan State · 10-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
- 1961Week 8
Missouri at Colorado
Missouri 6, Colorado 7
No. 10 Missouri vs. No. 8 Colorado · 1-point margin
Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
- 1961Week 8
Michigan State at Minnesota
Michigan State 0, Minnesota 13
No. 6 Michigan State vs. No. 5 Minnesota · 13-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15
63
Game score
- 1961PostseasonNeutral site
Colorado vs. LSU
Colorado 7, LSU 25
No. 6 Colorado vs. No. 3 LSU · 18-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 17/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
- 1961Week 4
Iowa at USC
Iowa 35, USC 34
No. 2 Iowa vs. Unranked USC · 1-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
- 1961PostseasonNeutral site
Georgia Tech vs. Penn State
Georgia Tech 15, Penn State 30
No. 9 Georgia Tech vs. No. 8 Penn State · 15-point margin
Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 20/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1961Week 10
Purdue at Minnesota
Purdue 7, Minnesota 10
Unranked Purdue vs. No. 3 Minnesota · 3-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1961PostseasonNeutral site
Minnesota vs. UCLA
Minnesota 21, UCLA 3
No. 7 Minnesota vs. No. 9 UCLA · 18-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 17/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1961Week 3
Ohio State at TCU
Ohio State 7, TCU 7
No. 8 Ohio State vs. Unranked TCU · 0-point margin
Ranking 18/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1961Week 11
Wisconsin at Minnesota
Wisconsin 23, Minnesota 21
Unranked Wisconsin vs. No. 7 Minnesota · 2-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1961Week 4
Notre Dame at Purdue
Notre Dame 22, Purdue 20
No. 8 Notre Dame vs. Unranked Purdue · 2-point margin
Ranking 18/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
51
Game score
- 1961Week 6
Auburn at Georgia Tech
Auburn 6, Georgia Tech 7
Unranked Auburn vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech · 1-point margin
Ranking 17/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
51
Game score
- 1961Week 10
Georgia Tech at Alabama
Georgia Tech 0, Alabama 10
Unranked Georgia Tech vs. No. 1 Alabama · 10-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
Game score
- 1961Week 10
TCU at Texas
TCU 6, Texas 0
Unranked TCU vs. No. 5 Texas · 6-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
Game score
- 1961Week 5
Colorado at Miami
Colorado 9, Miami 7
No. 9 Colorado vs. Unranked Miami · 2-point margin
Ranking 17/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
Game score
- 1961PostseasonNeutral site
Miami vs. Syracuse
Miami 14, Syracuse 15
Unranked Miami vs. No. 10 Syracuse · 1-point margin
Ranking 16/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
Game score
- 1961Week 4
Syracuse at Maryland
Syracuse 21, Maryland 22
Unranked Syracuse vs. No. 10 Maryland · 1-point margin
Ranking 16/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
Game score
- 1961Week 10
Oregon at Ohio State
Oregon 12, Ohio State 22
Unranked Oregon vs. No. 2 Ohio State · 10-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
49
Game score
- 1961Week 9
Ohio State at Indiana
Ohio State 16, Indiana 7
No. 3 Ohio State vs. Unranked Indiana · 9-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 26/35 · Overtime 0/15
49
Game score
- 1961Week 10
Mississippi State at LSU
Mississippi State 6, LSU 14
Unranked Mississippi State vs. No. 4 LSU · 8-point margin
Ranking 22/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15
49
Game score
- 1961Week 9
Minnesota at Iowa
Minnesota 16, Iowa 9
No. 5 Minnesota vs. Unranked Iowa · 7-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 28/35 · 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.
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. Historical seasons may have less complete period and box-score data.