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Top 25 College Football Games of 1986

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. 1986PostseasonNeutral site

    Miami vs. Penn State

    Miami 10, Penn State 14

    No. 1 Miami vs. No. 2 Penn State · 4-point margin

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

    80

    Game score

    Full Game · 1986 Penn State vs. Miami (Bowl Full Game)

  2. 1986Week 13

    Oklahoma at Nebraska

    Oklahoma 20, Nebraska 17

    No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Nebraska · 3-point margin

    Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    75

    Game score

  3. 1986Week 13

    Michigan at Ohio State

    Michigan 26, Ohio State 24

    No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 11 Ohio State · 2-point margin

    Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15

    70

    Game score

  4. 1986PostseasonNeutral site

    Michigan vs. Arizona State

    Michigan 15, Arizona State 22

    No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 7 Arizona State · 7-point margin

    Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    69

    Game score

  5. 1986Week 8

    Iowa at Michigan

    Iowa 17, Michigan 20

    No. 11 Iowa vs. No. 4 Michigan · 3-point margin

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

    69

    Game score

  6. 1986Week 5

    Oklahoma at Miami

    Oklahoma 16, Miami 28

    No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Miami · 12-point margin

    Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 23/35 · Overtime 0/15

    68

    Game score

  7. 1986Week 2

    Miami at Florida

    Miami 23, Florida 15

    No. 2 Miami vs. No. 13 Florida · 8-point margin

    Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15

    64

    Game score

  8. 1986Week 3

    Michigan at Notre Dame

    Michigan 24, Notre Dame 23

    No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 20 Notre Dame · 1-point margin

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

    63

    Game score

  9. 1986PostseasonNeutral site

    LSU vs. Nebraska

    LSU 15, Nebraska 30

    No. 5 LSU vs. No. 6 Nebraska · 15-point margin

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

    61

    Game score

  10. 1986Week 14

    Alabama at Auburn

    Alabama 17, Auburn 21

    No. 13 Alabama vs. No. 10 Auburn · 4-point margin

    Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    60

    Game score

  11. 1986Week 11

    LSU at Alabama

    LSU 14, Alabama 10

    No. 12 LSU vs. No. 11 Alabama · 4-point margin

    Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    60

    Game score

  12. 1986Week 12

    Texas A&M at Arkansas

    Texas A&M 10, Arkansas 14

    No. 13 Texas A&M vs. No. 11 Arkansas · 4-point margin

    Ranking 28/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    59

    Game score

  13. 1986Week 9

    Penn State at Alabama

    Penn State 23, Alabama 3

    No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 8 Alabama · 20-point margin

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

    57

    Game score

  14. 1986Week 12

    Washington at UCLA

    Washington 17, UCLA 17

    No. 12 Washington vs. No. 18 UCLA · 0-point margin

    Ranking 22/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15

    57

    Game score

  15. 1986Week 10

    Washington at Arizona State

    Washington 21, Arizona State 34

    No. 13 Washington vs. No. 5 Arizona State · 13-point margin

    Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15

    56

    Game score

  16. 1986Week 5

    Washington at USC

    Washington 10, USC 20

    No. 12 Washington vs. No. 9 USC · 10-point margin

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

    56

    Game score

  17. 1986Week 11

    Maryland at Penn State

    Maryland 15, Penn State 17

    Unranked Maryland vs. No. 3 Penn State · 2-point margin

    Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15

    56

    Game score

  18. 1986Week 6

    Nebraska at South Carolina

    Nebraska 27, South Carolina 24

    No. 3 Nebraska vs. Unranked South Carolina · 3-point margin

    Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    55

    Game score

  19. 1986Week 4

    USC at Baylor

    USC 17, Baylor 14

    No. 12 USC vs. No. 17 Baylor · 3-point margin

    Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    55

    Game score

  20. 1986Week 5

    Florida State at Michigan

    Florida State 18, Michigan 20

    Unranked Florida State vs. No. 4 Michigan · 2-point margin

    Ranking 22/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15

    55

    Game score

  21. 1986Week 12

    Penn State at Notre Dame

    Penn State 24, Notre Dame 19

    No. 2 Penn State vs. Unranked Notre Dame · 5-point margin

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

    54

    Game score

  22. 1986Week 13

    Notre Dame at LSU

    Notre Dame 19, LSU 21

    Unranked Notre Dame vs. No. 5 LSU · 2-point margin

    Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15

    54

    Game score

  23. 1986PostseasonNeutral site

    Texas A&M vs. Ohio State

    Texas A&M 12, Ohio State 28

    No. 8 Texas A&M vs. No. 11 Ohio State · 16-point margin

    Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 19/35 · Overtime 0/15

    52

    Game score

  24. 1986Week 12

    Minnesota at Michigan

    Minnesota 20, Michigan 17

    Unranked Minnesota vs. No. 6 Michigan · 3-point margin

    Ranking 20/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    52

    Game score

  25. 1986PostseasonNeutral site

    USC vs. Auburn

    USC 7, Auburn 16

    No. 17 USC vs. No. 10 Auburn · 9-point margin

    Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 26/35 · 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.