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Top 25 College Football Games of 1989

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
79/100
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. 1989Week 3

    Notre Dame at Michigan

    Notre Dame 24, Michigan 19

    No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Michigan · 5-point margin

    Ranking 49/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15

    79

    Game score

  2. 1989Week 10

    Nebraska at Colorado

    Nebraska 21, Colorado 27

    No. 3 Nebraska vs. No. 2 Colorado · 6-point margin

    Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15

    76

    Game score

  3. 1989Week 8

    USC at Notre Dame

    USC 24, Notre Dame 28

    No. 9 USC vs. No. 1 Notre Dame · 4-point margin

    Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    73

    Game score

  4. 1989PostseasonNeutral site

    Alabama vs. Miami

    Alabama 25, Miami 33

    No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 2 Miami · 8-point margin

    Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15

    70

    Game score

  5. 1989Week 5

    West Virginia at Pittsburgh

    West Virginia 31, Pittsburgh 31

    No. 9 West Virginia vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh · 0-point margin

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

    68

    Game score

  6. 1989PostseasonNeutral site

    Colorado vs. Notre Dame

    Colorado 6, Notre Dame 21

    No. 1 Colorado vs. No. 4 Notre Dame · 15-point margin

    Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 20/35 · Overtime 0/15

    67

    Game score

  7. 1989Week 9

    Alabama at Penn State

    Alabama 17, Penn State 16

    No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 14 Penn State · 1-point margin

    Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15

    66

    Game score

  8. 1989PostseasonNeutral site

    Michigan vs. USC

    Michigan 10, USC 17

    No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 12 USC · 7-point margin

    Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    65

    Game score

  9. 1989PostseasonNeutral site

    Arkansas vs. Tennessee

    Arkansas 27, Tennessee 31

    No. 10 Arkansas vs. No. 8 Tennessee · 4-point margin

    Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15

    65

    Game score

  10. 1989Week 14

    Alabama at Auburn

    Alabama 20, Auburn 30

    No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 11 Auburn · 10-point margin

    Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15

    64

    Game score

  11. 1989Week 5

    Auburn at Tennessee

    Auburn 14, Tennessee 21

    No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 12 Tennessee · 7-point margin

    Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    64

    Game score

  12. 1989Week 13

    Arkansas at Texas A&M

    Arkansas 23, Texas A&M 22

    No. 9 Arkansas vs. No. 14 Texas A&M · 1-point margin

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

    63

    Game score

  13. 1989Week 13

    Notre Dame at Miami

    Notre Dame 10, Miami 27

    No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Miami · 17-point margin

    Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 18/35 · Overtime 0/15

    62

    Game score

  14. 1989Week 11

    Michigan at Illinois

    Michigan 24, Illinois 10

    No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 8 Illinois · 14-point margin

    Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 21/35 · Overtime 0/15

    62

    Game score

  15. 1989Week 9

    Miami at Florida State

    Miami 10, Florida State 24

    No. 2 Miami vs. No. 9 Florida State · 14-point margin

    Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 21/35 · Overtime 0/15

    62

    Game score

  16. 1989Week 12

    Notre Dame at Penn State

    Notre Dame 34, Penn State 23

    No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 17 Penn State · 11-point margin

    Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 24/35 · Overtime 0/15

    58

    Game score

  17. 1989Week 7

    Michigan at Michigan State

    Michigan 10, Michigan State 7

    No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 21 Michigan State · 3-point margin

    Ranking 26/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15

    58

    Game score

  18. 1989Week 4

    Syracuse at Pittsburgh

    Syracuse 23, Pittsburgh 30

    No. 10 Syracuse vs. No. 13 Pittsburgh · 7-point margin

    Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15

    57

    Game score

  19. 1989Week 4

    Michigan at UCLA

    Michigan 24, UCLA 23

    No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 24 UCLA · 1-point margin

    Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15

    57

    Game score

  20. 1989Week 9

    Houston at Arkansas

    Houston 39, Arkansas 45

    No. 12 Houston vs. No. 13 Arkansas · 6-point margin

    Ranking 27/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15

    56

    Game score

  21. 1989Week 5

    USC at Washington State

    USC 18, Washington State 17

    No. 11 USC vs. No. 19 Washington State · 1-point margin

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

    56

    Game score

  22. 1989Week 7

    Notre Dame at Air Force

    Notre Dame 41, Air Force 27

    No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 17 Air Force · 14-point margin

    Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 21/35 · Overtime 0/15

    55

    Game score

  23. 1989Week 8

    Tennessee at Alabama

    Tennessee 30, Alabama 47

    No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 10 Alabama · 17-point margin

    Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 18/35 · Overtime 0/15

    54

    Game score

  24. 1989Week 13

    Ohio State at Michigan

    Ohio State 18, Michigan 28

    No. 20 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Michigan · 10-point margin

    Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15

    54

    Game score

  25. 1989Week 8

    Auburn at Florida State

    Auburn 14, Florida State 22

    No. 11 Auburn vs. No. 14 Florida State · 8-point margin

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

    54

    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.