Season leaderboard
Top 25 College Football Games of 1974
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
- 78/100
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 1974Week 12
Oklahoma at Nebraska
Oklahoma 28, Nebraska 14
No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Nebraska · 14-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 21/35 · Overtime 0/15
66
Game score
- 1974Week 2
Alabama at Maryland
Alabama 21, Maryland 16
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 14 Maryland · 5-point margin
Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
- 1974Week 6
Texas at Oklahoma
Texas 13, Oklahoma 16
No. 17 Texas vs. No. 2 Oklahoma · 3-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
- 1974Week 11
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame
Pittsburgh 10, Notre Dame 14
No. 17 Pittsburgh vs. No. 5 Notre Dame · 4-point margin
Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
61
Game score
- 1974Week 9
Auburn at Florida
Auburn 14, Florida 25
No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 11 Florida · 11-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 24/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
- 1974PostseasonNeutral site
Maryland vs. Tennessee
Maryland 3, Tennessee 7
No. 10 Maryland vs. No. 14 Tennessee · 4-point margin
Ranking 28/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
- 1974PostseasonNeutral site
Houston vs. NC State
Houston 31, NC State 31
No. 15 Houston vs. No. 13 NC State · 0-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
- 1974PostseasonNeutral site
Florida vs. Nebraska
Florida 10, Nebraska 13
No. 18 Florida vs. No. 8 Nebraska · 3-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
- 1974Week 10
Ohio State at Michigan State
Ohio State 13, Michigan State 16
No. 1 Ohio State vs. Unranked Michigan State · 3-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1974Week 5
Auburn at Miami
Auburn 3, Miami 0
No. 11 Auburn vs. No. 16 Miami · 3-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1974Week 6
Florida State at Alabama
Florida State 7, Alabama 8
Unranked Florida State vs. No. 3 Alabama · 1-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1974Week 3
Nebraska at Wisconsin
Nebraska 20, Wisconsin 21
No. 4 Nebraska vs. Unranked Wisconsin · 1-point margin
Ranking 22/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
- 1974Week 9
Maryland at Penn State
Maryland 17, Penn State 24
No. 15 Maryland vs. No. 10 Penn State · 7-point margin
Ranking 27/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1974Week 2
Stanford at Penn State
Stanford 20, Penn State 24
No. 20 Stanford vs. No. 8 Penn State · 4-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1974Week 9
USC at California
USC 15, California 15
No. 6 USC vs. Unranked California · 0-point margin
Ranking 20/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1974Week 7
Michigan at Wisconsin
Michigan 24, Wisconsin 20
No. 3 Michigan vs. Unranked Wisconsin · 4-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
54
Game score
- 1974Week 10
Florida at Georgia
Florida 16, Georgia 17
No. 6 Florida vs. Unranked Georgia · 1-point margin
Ranking 20/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
54
Game score
- 1974Week 7
Arizona at Texas Tech
Arizona 8, Texas Tech 17
No. 9 Arizona vs. No. 17 Texas Tech · 9-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 26/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1974Week 4
USC at Pittsburgh
USC 16, Pittsburgh 7
No. 18 USC vs. No. 8 Pittsburgh · 9-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 26/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1974Week 10
Texas A&M at SMU
Texas A&M 14, SMU 18
No. 5 Texas A&M vs. Unranked SMU · 4-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1974Week 3
Navy at Penn State
Navy 7, Penn State 6
Unranked Navy vs. No. 8 Penn State · 1-point margin
Ranking 18/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
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.