Season leaderboard
Top 25 College Football Games of 1978
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.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 1978Week 13
Notre Dame at USC
Notre Dame 25, USC 27
No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 USC · 2-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
- 1978PostseasonNeutral site
Nebraska vs. Oklahoma
Nebraska 24, Oklahoma 31
No. 6 Nebraska vs. No. 4 Oklahoma · 7-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
Full Game · 1978 Oklahoma vs. Nebraska (Bowl Full Game)
- 1978Week 11
Houston at Texas
Houston 10, Texas 7
No. 6 Houston vs. No. 9 Texas · 3-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
69
Game score
- 1978Week 4
USC at Alabama
USC 24, Alabama 14
No. 3 USC vs. No. 7 Alabama · 10-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
- 1978PostseasonNeutral site
Houston vs. Notre Dame
Houston 34, Notre Dame 35
No. 9 Houston vs. No. 10 Notre Dame · 1-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
- 1978Week 8
Arkansas at Texas
Arkansas 21, Texas 28
No. 9 Arkansas vs. No. 7 Texas · 7-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
64
Game score
- 1978PostseasonNeutral site
Arkansas vs. UCLA
Arkansas 10, UCLA 10
No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 15 UCLA · 0-point margin
Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
64
Game score
- 1978Week 13
Pittsburgh at Penn State
Pittsburgh 10, Penn State 17
No. 16 Pittsburgh vs. No. 1 Penn State · 7-point margin
Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
63
Game score
- 1978Week 12
USC at UCLA
USC 17, UCLA 10
No. 3 USC vs. No. 17 UCLA · 7-point margin
Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
- 1978Week 12
Clemson at Maryland
Clemson 28, Maryland 24
No. 10 Clemson vs. No. 13 Maryland · 4-point margin
Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
- 1978Week 7
Oklahoma at Kansas
Oklahoma 17, Kansas 16
No. 1 Oklahoma vs. Unranked Kansas · 1-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
- 1978Week 2
Missouri at Notre Dame
Missouri 3, Notre Dame 0
No. 11 Missouri vs. No. 15 Notre Dame · 3-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
- 1978PostseasonNeutral site
Ohio State vs. Clemson
Ohio State 15, Clemson 17
No. 20 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Clemson · 2-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
- 1978Week 12
Missouri at Nebraska
Missouri 35, Nebraska 31
No. 19 Missouri vs. No. 7 Nebraska · 4-point margin
Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1978Week 2
UCLA at Washington
UCLA 10, Washington 7
No. 9 UCLA vs. No. 18 Washington · 3-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1978PostseasonNeutral site
Georgia vs. Stanford
Georgia 22, Stanford 25
No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 18 Stanford · 3-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1978Week 6
Stanford at UCLA
Stanford 26, UCLA 27
No. 18 Stanford vs. No. 14 UCLA · 1-point margin
Ranking 20/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
54
Game score
- 1978Week 6
Texas at Oklahoma
Texas 10, Oklahoma 31
No. 12 Texas vs. No. 1 Oklahoma · 21-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 14/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1978Week 7
USC at Arizona State
USC 7, Arizona State 20
No. 7 USC vs. No. 14 Arizona State · 13-point margin
Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1978Week 2
Oklahoma at Stanford
Oklahoma 35, Stanford 29
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. Unranked Stanford · 6-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1978Week 6
Arizona at Michigan
Arizona 17, Michigan 21
Unranked Arizona vs. No. 5 Michigan · 4-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
52
Game score
- 1978Week 3
Alabama at Missouri
Alabama 38, Missouri 20
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 17 Missouri · 18-point margin
Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 17/35 · Overtime 0/15
51
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.