Season leaderboard
Top 25 College Football Games of 1997
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
- 76/100
- 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.
- 1997Week 14
Ohio State at Michigan
Ohio State 14, Michigan 20
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Michigan · 6-point margin
Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
76
Game score
- 1997Week 8
Ohio State at Penn State
Ohio State 27, Penn State 31
No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Penn State · 4-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
74
Game score
- 1997PostseasonNeutral site
Washington State vs. Michigan
Washington State 16, Michigan 21
No. 8 Washington State vs. No. 1 Michigan · 5-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
- 1997Week 14
Florida State at Florida
Florida State 29, Florida 32
No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 10 Florida · 3-point margin
Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
- 1997PostseasonNeutral site
Auburn vs. Tennessee
Auburn 29, Tennessee 30
No. 13 Auburn vs. No. 3 Tennessee · 1-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
Full Game · 1997 Tennessee vs. Auburn (SEC Championship Game Full Game)
- 1997Week 5
Tennessee at Florida
Tennessee 20, Florida 33
No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Florida · 13-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
- 1997Week 5
Nebraska at Washington
Nebraska 27, Washington 14
No. 7 Nebraska vs. No. 2 Washington · 13-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
- 1997Week 8
Florida at LSU
Florida 21, LSU 28
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 14 LSU · 7-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
- 1997Week 9
Iowa at Michigan
Iowa 24, Michigan 28
No. 15 Iowa vs. No. 5 Michigan · 4-point margin
Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
63
Game score
- 1997Week 12
Florida State at North Carolina
Florida State 20, North Carolina 3
No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 5 North Carolina · 17-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 18/35 · Overtime 0/15
62
Game score
- 1997Week 5
Auburn at LSU
Auburn 31, LSU 28
No. 12 Auburn vs. No. 10 LSU · 3-point margin
Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
62
Game score
- 1997Week 9
Florida at Auburn
Florida 24, Auburn 10
No. 7 Florida vs. No. 6 Auburn · 14-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 21/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
- 1997Week 5
Florida State at Clemson
Florida State 35, Clemson 28
No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 16 Clemson · 7-point margin
Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
- 1997Week 9
Minnesota at Penn State
Minnesota 15, Penn State 16
Unranked Minnesota vs. No. 1 Penn State · 1-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
- 1997PostseasonNeutral site
Tennessee vs. Nebraska
Tennessee 17, Nebraska 42
No. 3 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Nebraska · 25-point margin
Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 10/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
Full Game · 1997 Nebraska vs. Tennessee (Bowl Full Game)
- 1997PostseasonNeutral site
Ohio State vs. Florida State
Ohio State 14, Florida State 31
No. 9 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Florida State · 17-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 18/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
- 1997PostseasonNeutral site
Texas A&M vs. UCLA
Texas A&M 23, UCLA 29
No. 20 Texas A&M vs. No. 5 UCLA · 6-point margin
Ranking 27/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
- 1997Week 15
Nebraska at Colorado
Nebraska 27, Colorado 24
No. 2 Nebraska vs. Unranked Colorado · 3-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
- 1997Week 11
Penn State at Northwestern
Penn State 30, Northwestern 27
No. 2 Penn State vs. Unranked Northwestern · 3-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
- 1997Week 12
Michigan at Penn State
Michigan 34, Penn State 8
No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 2 Penn State · 26-point margin
Ranking 46/50 · Closeness 9/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1997PostseasonNeutral site
Penn State vs. Florida
Penn State 6, Florida 21
No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 6 Florida · 15-point margin
Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 20/35 · Overtime 0/15
55
Game score
- 1997Week 7
Iowa at Ohio State
Iowa 7, Ohio State 23
No. 11 Iowa vs. No. 7 Ohio State · 16-point margin
Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 19/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1997Week 13
Auburn at Georgia
Auburn 45, Georgia 34
No. 16 Auburn vs. No. 7 Georgia · 11-point margin
Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 24/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1997Week 13
Michigan at Wisconsin
Michigan 26, Wisconsin 16
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 23 Wisconsin · 10-point margin
Ranking 28/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
- 1997Week 12
Nebraska at Missouri
Nebraska 45, Missouri 38
No. 1 Nebraska vs. Unranked Missouri · 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.