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Top 25 College Football Games of 1981

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.

  1. 1981Week 4

    Oklahoma at USC

    Oklahoma 24, USC 28

    No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 USC · 4-point margin

    Ranking 49/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    80

    Game score

  2. 1981PostseasonNeutral site

    Alabama vs. Texas

    Alabama 12, Texas 14

    No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 6 Texas · 2-point margin

    Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15

    76

    Game score

  3. 1981PostseasonNeutral site

    Nebraska vs. Clemson

    Nebraska 15, Clemson 22

    No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 1 Clemson · 7-point margin

    Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    75

    Game score

    Full Game · 1981 Clemson vs. Nebraska (Bowl Full Game)

  4. 1981Week 10

    Clemson at North Carolina

    Clemson 10, North Carolina 8

    No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 8 North Carolina · 2-point margin

    Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15

    75

    Game score

  5. 1981PostseasonNeutral site

    Georgia vs. Pittsburgh

    Georgia 20, Pittsburgh 24

    No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh · 4-point margin

    Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    71

    Game score

  6. 1981Week 9

    Mississippi State at Alabama

    Mississippi State 10, Alabama 13

    No. 7 Mississippi State vs. No. 8 Alabama · 3-point margin

    Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    69

    Game score

  7. 1981Week 7

    Iowa at Michigan

    Iowa 9, Michigan 7

    No. 12 Iowa vs. No. 5 Michigan · 2-point margin

    Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15

    68

    Game score

  8. 1981Week 8

    Texas at SMU

    Texas 9, SMU 7

    No. 10 Texas vs. No. 8 SMU · 2-point margin

    Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15

    67

    Game score

  9. 1981Week 4

    Penn State at Nebraska

    Penn State 30, Nebraska 24

    No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 15 Nebraska · 6-point margin

    Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15

    63

    Game score

  10. 1981Week 4

    Miami at Texas

    Miami 7, Texas 14

    No. 14 Miami vs. No. 4 Texas · 7-point margin

    Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    62

    Game score

  11. 1981Week 5

    Oklahoma at Iowa State

    Oklahoma 7, Iowa State 7

    No. 5 Oklahoma vs. No. 20 Iowa State · 0-point margin

    Ranking 27/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15

    62

    Game score

  12. 1981Week 11

    Alabama at Penn State

    Alabama 31, Penn State 16

    No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 5 Penn State · 15-point margin

    Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 20/35 · Overtime 0/15

    61

    Game score

  13. 1981Week 12

    UCLA at USC

    UCLA 21, USC 22

    No. 15 UCLA vs. No. 10 USC · 1-point margin

    Ranking 27/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15

    61

    Game score

  14. 1981Week 3

    Notre Dame at Michigan

    Notre Dame 7, Michigan 25

    No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Michigan · 18-point margin

    Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 17/35 · Overtime 0/15

    57

    Game score

  15. 1981Week 9

    Penn State at Miami

    Penn State 14, Miami 17

    No. 1 Penn State vs. Unranked Miami · 3-point margin

    Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    57

    Game score

  16. 1981Week 6

    Arizona at USC

    Arizona 13, USC 10

    Unranked Arizona vs. No. 1 USC · 3-point margin

    Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    57

    Game score

  17. 1981PostseasonNeutral site

    USC vs. Penn State

    USC 10, Penn State 26

    No. 8 USC vs. No. 7 Penn State · 16-point margin

    Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 19/35 · Overtime 0/15

    56

    Game score

  18. 1981PostseasonNeutral site

    Arkansas vs. North Carolina

    Arkansas 27, North Carolina 31

    No. 16 Arkansas vs. No. 11 North Carolina · 4-point margin

    Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    56

    Game score

  19. 1981Week 2

    Georgia Tech at Alabama

    Georgia Tech 24, Alabama 21

    Unranked Georgia Tech vs. No. 2 Alabama · 3-point margin

    Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    56

    Game score

  20. 1981Week 10

    Houston at Texas

    Houston 14, Texas 14

    Unranked Houston vs. No. 5 Texas · 0-point margin

    Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15

    56

    Game score

  21. 1981Week 6

    Oklahoma at Texas

    Oklahoma 14, Texas 34

    No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Texas · 20-point margin

    Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 15/35 · Overtime 0/15

    54

    Game score

  22. 1981Week 9

    Pittsburgh at Boston College

    Pittsburgh 29, Boston College 24

    No. 2 Pittsburgh vs. Unranked Boston College · 5-point margin

    Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15

    54

    Game score

  23. 1981Week 7

    Miami at Mississippi State

    Miami 10, Mississippi State 14

    No. 13 Miami vs. No. 16 Mississippi State · 4-point margin

    Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    54

    Game score

  24. 1981Week 6

    Alabama at Southern Miss

    Alabama 13, Southern Miss 13

    No. 7 Alabama vs. Unranked Southern Miss · 0-point margin

    Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15

    54

    Game score

  25. 1981Week 2

    Michigan at Wisconsin

    Michigan 14, Wisconsin 21

    No. 1 Michigan vs. Unranked Wisconsin · 7-point margin

    Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    53

    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.