Season leaderboard
Top 25 College Football Games of 1971
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
- 80/100
- 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.
- 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
- 1971Week 3
Auburn at Tennessee
Auburn 10, Tennessee 9
No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 9 Tennessee · 1-point margin
Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
- 1971PostseasonNeutral site
Michigan vs. Stanford
Michigan 12, Stanford 13
No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 16 Stanford · 1-point margin
Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
66
Game score
- 1971Week 3
Colorado at Ohio State
Colorado 20, Ohio State 14
No. 10 Colorado vs. No. 6 Ohio State · 6-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
- 1971PostseasonNeutral site
Auburn vs. Oklahoma
Auburn 22, Oklahoma 40
No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 3 Oklahoma · 18-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 17/35 · Overtime 0/15
61
Game score
Full Game · 1971 Oklahoma vs. Auburn (Bowl Full Game)
- 1971Week 10
Auburn at Georgia
Auburn 35, Georgia 20
No. 6 Auburn vs. No. 7 Georgia · 15-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 20/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
- 1971PostseasonNeutral site
North Carolina vs. Georgia
North Carolina 3, Georgia 7
No. 18 North Carolina vs. No. 6 Georgia · 4-point margin
Ranking 28/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
- 1971PostseasonNeutral site
Arkansas vs. Tennessee
Arkansas 13, Tennessee 14
No. 18 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Tennessee · 1-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
- 1971Week 9
Alabama at LSU
Alabama 14, LSU 7
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 18 LSU · 7-point margin
Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
- 1971Week 3
Notre Dame at Purdue
Notre Dame 8, Purdue 7
No. 2 Notre Dame vs. Unranked Purdue · 1-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
- 1971Week 12
Auburn at Alabama
Auburn 7, Alabama 31
No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 3 Alabama · 24-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 11/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1971Week 5
Texas at Oklahoma
Texas 27, Oklahoma 48
No. 3 Texas vs. No. 8 Oklahoma · 21-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 14/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1971Week 11
Ohio State at Michigan
Ohio State 7, Michigan 10
Unranked Ohio State vs. No. 3 Michigan · 3-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1971Week 10
Michigan at Purdue
Michigan 20, Purdue 17
No. 3 Michigan vs. Unranked Purdue · 3-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1971Week 8
Colorado at Nebraska
Colorado 7, Nebraska 31
No. 9 Colorado vs. No. 1 Nebraska · 24-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 11/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1971PostseasonNeutral site
Colorado vs. Houston
Colorado 29, Houston 17
No. 7 Colorado vs. No. 15 Houston · 12-point margin
Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 23/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1971PostseasonNeutral site
Florida State vs. Arizona State
Florida State 38, Arizona State 45
No. 19 Florida State vs. No. 8 Arizona State · 7-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1971Week 3
Tulsa at Arkansas
Tulsa 21, Arkansas 20
Unranked Tulsa vs. No. 7 Arkansas · 1-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1971PostseasonNeutral site
Alabama vs. Nebraska
Alabama 6, Nebraska 38
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 1 Nebraska · 32-point margin
Ranking 49/50 · Closeness 3/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1971Week 6
Tennessee at Alabama
Tennessee 15, Alabama 32
No. 14 Tennessee vs. No. 4 Alabama · 17-point margin
Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 18/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1971Week 4
Duke at Stanford
Duke 9, Stanford 3
No. 19 Duke vs. No. 10 Stanford · 6-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1971Week 10
USC at Washington
USC 13, Washington 12
No. 15 USC vs. No. 19 Washington · 1-point margin
Ranking 18/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1971Week 6
Colorado at Oklahoma
Colorado 17, Oklahoma 45
No. 6 Colorado vs. No. 2 Oklahoma · 28-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 7/35 · Overtime 0/15
51
Game score
- 1971Week 13
Penn State at Tennessee
Penn State 11, Tennessee 31
No. 5 Penn State vs. No. 12 Tennessee · 20-point margin
Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 15/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
Game score
- 1971Week 12
Georgia at Georgia Tech
Georgia 28, Georgia Tech 24
No. 7 Georgia vs. Unranked Georgia Tech · 4-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
50
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.