Season leaderboard
Top 25 College Football Games of 1996
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
- 81/100
- 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.
- 1996Week 15
Florida at Florida State
Florida 21, Florida State 24
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Florida State · 3-point margin
Ranking 49/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
81
Game score
- 1996PostseasonNeutral site
Arizona State vs. Ohio State
Arizona State 17, Ohio State 20
No. 2 Arizona State vs. No. 4 Ohio State · 3-point margin
Ranking 46/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
78
Game score
- 1996Week 5
Florida at Tennessee
Florida 35, Tennessee 29
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 2 Tennessee · 6-point margin
Ranking 46/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
75
Game score
Full Game · Florida at Tennessee (Full Game)
- 1996Week 15
Colorado at Nebraska
Colorado 12, Nebraska 17
No. 5 Colorado vs. No. 4 Nebraska · 5-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
- 1996Week 5
Notre Dame at Texas
Notre Dame 27, Texas 24
No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Texas · 3-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
69
Game score
- 1996Week 10
Alabama at Tennessee
Alabama 13, Tennessee 20
No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 6 Tennessee · 7-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
- 1996Week 6
Ohio State at Notre Dame
Ohio State 29, Notre Dame 16
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame · 13-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
- 1996Week 4
Michigan at Colorado
Michigan 20, Colorado 13
No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 5 Colorado · 7-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
64
Game score
- 1996PostseasonNeutral site
Kansas State vs. BYU
Kansas State 15, BYU 19
No. 14 Kansas State vs. No. 5 BYU · 4-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
64
Game score
- 1996Week 10
Virginia at Florida State
Virginia 24, Florida State 31
No. 14 Virginia vs. No. 3 Florida State · 7-point margin
Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
63
Game score
- 1996Week 6
North Carolina at Florida State
North Carolina 0, Florida State 13
No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Florida State · 13-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15
61
Game score
- 1996Week 8
Florida State at Miami
Florida State 34, Miami 16
No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 6 Miami · 18-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 17/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
- 1996Week 13
Kansas State at Colorado
Kansas State 0, Colorado 12
No. 9 Kansas State vs. No. 6 Colorado · 12-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 23/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
- 1996Week 14
Michigan at Ohio State
Michigan 13, Ohio State 9
No. 21 Michigan vs. No. 2 Ohio State · 4-point margin
Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
- 1996Week 7
Michigan at Northwestern
Michigan 16, Northwestern 17
No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 22 Northwestern · 1-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
- 1996PostseasonNeutral site
Wyoming vs. BYU
Wyoming 25, BYU 28
No. 22 Wyoming vs. No. 5 BYU · 3-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1996Week 8
Wisconsin at Ohio State
Wisconsin 14, Ohio State 17
Unranked Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Ohio State · 3-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
- 1996Week 6
Penn State at Wisconsin
Penn State 23, Wisconsin 20
No. 3 Penn State vs. Unranked Wisconsin · 3-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1996PostseasonNeutral site
Washington vs. Colorado
Washington 21, Colorado 33
No. 13 Washington vs. No. 8 Colorado · 12-point margin
Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 23/35 · Overtime 0/15
54
Game score
- 1996Week 13
North Carolina at Virginia
North Carolina 17, Virginia 20
No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 24 Virginia · 3-point margin
Ranking 22/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
54
Game score
- 1996PostseasonNeutral site
Alabama vs. Florida
Alabama 30, Florida 45
No. 16 Alabama vs. No. 3 Florida · 15-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 20/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
Full Game · 1996 Florida vs. Alabama (SEC Championship Game Full Game)
- 1996Week 10
Ohio State at Iowa
Ohio State 38, Iowa 26
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 20 Iowa · 12-point margin
Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 23/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1996Week 12
Florida at Vanderbilt
Florida 28, Vanderbilt 21
No. 1 Florida vs. Unranked Vanderbilt · 7-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1996PostseasonNeutral site
Michigan vs. Alabama
Michigan 14, Alabama 17
No. 15 Michigan vs. No. 16 Alabama · 3-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1996Week 13
Alabama at Mississippi State
Alabama 16, Mississippi State 17
No. 8 Alabama vs. Unranked Mississippi State · 1-point margin
Ranking 18/50 · Closeness 34/35 · 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.