Season leaderboard
Top 25 College Football Games of 1976
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
- 74/100
- 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.
- 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
- 1976Week 5
Ohio State at UCLA
Ohio State 10, UCLA 10
No. 10 Ohio State vs. No. 5 UCLA · 0-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
- 1976Week 3
Ohio State at Penn State
Ohio State 12, Penn State 7
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Penn State · 5-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
69
Game score
- 1976Week 12
USC at UCLA
USC 24, UCLA 14
No. 3 USC vs. No. 6 UCLA · 10-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
- 1976PostseasonNeutral site
Maryland vs. Houston
Maryland 21, Houston 30
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 6 Houston · 9-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 26/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
- 1976Week 6
Oklahoma at Texas
Oklahoma 6, Texas 6
No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 13 Texas · 0-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
- 1976Week 4
Missouri at Ohio State
Missouri 22, Ohio State 21
No. 12 Missouri vs. No. 8 Ohio State · 1-point margin
Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
66
Game score
- 1976Week 13
Notre Dame at USC
Notre Dame 13, USC 17
No. 15 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 USC · 4-point margin
Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
- 1976Week 12
Houston at Texas Tech
Houston 27, Texas Tech 19
No. 7 Houston vs. No. 9 Texas Tech · 8-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15
63
Game score
- 1976Week 13
Oklahoma at Nebraska
Oklahoma 20, Nebraska 17
No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 13 Nebraska · 3-point margin
Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
63
Game score
- 1976Week 2
LSU at Nebraska
LSU 6, Nebraska 6
No. 16 LSU vs. No. 8 Nebraska · 0-point margin
Ranking 28/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
63
Game score
- 1976PostseasonNeutral site
Texas Tech vs. Nebraska
Texas Tech 24, Nebraska 27
No. 9 Texas Tech vs. No. 13 Nebraska · 3-point margin
Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
62
Game score
- 1976Week 9
Texas at Texas Tech
Texas 28, Texas Tech 31
No. 20 Texas vs. No. 5 Texas Tech · 3-point margin
Ranking 27/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
- 1976Week 8
Missouri at Nebraska
Missouri 34, Nebraska 24
No. 10 Missouri vs. No. 9 Nebraska · 10-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
- 1976PostseasonNeutral site
Georgia vs. Pittsburgh
Georgia 3, Pittsburgh 27
No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh · 24-point margin
Ranking 46/50 · Closeness 11/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1976Week 10
Oklahoma State at Nebraska
Oklahoma State 10, Nebraska 14
No. 17 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Nebraska · 4-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1976Week 9
Missouri at Oklahoma State
Missouri 19, Oklahoma State 20
No. 16 Missouri vs. No. 13 Oklahoma State · 1-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1976Week 6
Georgia at Ole Miss
Georgia 17, Ole Miss 21
No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 16 Ole Miss · 4-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
- 1976Week 10
Michigan at Purdue
Michigan 14, Purdue 16
No. 4 Michigan vs. Unranked Purdue · 2-point margin
Ranking 22/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1976Week 13
Georgia Tech at Georgia
Georgia Tech 10, Georgia 13
Unranked Georgia Tech vs. No. 5 Georgia · 3-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1976Week 11
Alabama at Notre Dame
Alabama 18, Notre Dame 21
No. 18 Alabama vs. No. 13 Notre Dame · 3-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1976Week 7
Wake Forest at Maryland
Wake Forest 15, Maryland 17
Unranked Wake Forest vs. No. 6 Maryland · 2-point margin
Ranking 20/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1976Week 11
Nebraska at Iowa State
Nebraska 28, Iowa State 37
No. 12 Nebraska vs. No. 14 Iowa State · 9-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 26/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1976Week 11
West Virginia at Pittsburgh
West Virginia 16, Pittsburgh 24
Unranked West Virginia vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh · 8-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1976Week 10
Texas Tech at TCU
Texas Tech 14, TCU 10
No. 5 Texas Tech vs. Unranked TCU · 4-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 31/35 · 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.