Season leaderboard

Top 25 College Football Games of 2012

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: 78/100
Overtime: 6

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.

2012Week 14Neutral site
Alabama vs. Georgia
Alabama 32, Georgia 28
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Georgia · 4-point margin
Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
78
Game score
Full Game · 2012 Georgia vs. Alabama (SEC Championship Game Full Game)
2012Week 121OT
Stanford at Oregon
Stanford 17, Oregon 14
No. 14 Stanford vs. No. 1 Oregon · 3-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 9/15
78
Game score
2012Week 10
Alabama at LSU
Alabama 21, LSU 17
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 5 LSU · 4-point margin
Ranking 46/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
77
Game score
Full Game · 2012 LSU vs. Alabama (Regular Season Full Game)
2012Week 7
South Carolina at LSU
South Carolina 21, LSU 23
No. 3 South Carolina vs. No. 9 LSU · 2-point margin
Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
Full Game · 2012 LSU vs. South Carolina (Regular Season Full Game)
2012Week 103OT
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame
Pittsburgh 26, Notre Dame 29
Unranked Pittsburgh vs. No. 4 Notre Dame · 3-point margin
Ranking 22/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 13/15
67
Game score
2012Week 11
Texas A&M at Alabama
Texas A&M 29, Alabama 24
No. 15 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Alabama · 5-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
66
Game score
2012Week 6
LSU at Florida
LSU 6, Florida 14
No. 4 LSU vs. No. 10 Florida · 8-point margin
Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
2012Week 6
West Virginia at Texas
West Virginia 48, Texas 45
No. 8 West Virginia vs. No. 11 Texas · 3-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
2012Week 71OT
Stanford at Notre Dame
Stanford 13, Notre Dame 20
No. 17 Stanford vs. No. 7 Notre Dame · 7-point margin
Ranking 28/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 9/15
65
Game score
2012Week 9Neutral site
Florida vs. Georgia
Florida 9, Georgia 17
No. 3 Florida vs. No. 12 Georgia · 8-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15
64
Game score
Full Game · 2012 Georgia vs. Florida (Regular Season Full Game)
2012Chick-fil-A BOWLNeutral site
LSU vs. Clemson
LSU 24, Clemson 25
No. 9 LSU vs. No. 14 Clemson · 1-point margin
Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
63
Game score
2012Week 4
Clemson at Florida State
Clemson 37, Florida State 49
No. 10 Clemson vs. No. 4 Florida State · 12-point margin
Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 23/35 · Overtime 0/15
61
Game score
Full Game · 2012 Florida State vs. Clemson (Regular Season Full Game)
2012Week 4
Kansas State at Oklahoma
Kansas State 24, Oklahoma 19
No. 15 Kansas State vs. No. 6 Oklahoma · 5-point margin
Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
61
Game score
2012Week 13
Florida at Florida State
Florida 37, Florida State 26
No. 6 Florida vs. No. 10 Florida State · 11-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 24/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
2012ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY VIZIONeutral site
Wisconsin vs. Stanford
Wisconsin 14, Stanford 20
No. 13 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Stanford · 6-point margin
Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
60
Game score
Full Game · 2012 Stanford vs. Wisconsin (Rose Bowl Full Game)
2012Week 14
UCLA at Stanford
UCLA 24, Stanford 27
No. 17 UCLA vs. No. 8 Stanford · 3-point margin
Ranking 27/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
2012RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWLNeutral site1OT
Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech
Rutgers 10, Virginia Tech 13
No. 21 Rutgers vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech · 3-point margin
Ranking 18/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 9/15
59
Game score
2012Week 2Neutral site1OT
UL Monroe vs. Arkansas
UL Monroe 34, Arkansas 31
Unranked UL Monroe vs. No. 8 Arkansas · 3-point margin
Ranking 18/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 9/15
59
Game score
2012Week 13
Michigan at Ohio State
Michigan 21, Ohio State 26
No. 20 Michigan vs. No. 4 Ohio State · 5-point margin
Ranking 28/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
2012TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWLNeutral site
Oregon vs. Kansas State
Oregon 35, Kansas State 17
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 7 Kansas State · 18-point margin
Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 17/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
Full Game · 2012 Kansas State vs. Oregon (Fiesta Bowl Full Game)
2012Week 9
Notre Dame at Oklahoma
Notre Dame 30, Oklahoma 13
No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 8 Oklahoma · 17-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 18/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
Full Game · 2012 Oklahoma vs. Notre Dame (Regular Season Full Game)
2012Week 3
USC at Stanford
USC 14, Stanford 21
No. 2 USC vs. No. 21 Stanford · 7-point margin
Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
2012Week 4
LSU at Auburn
LSU 12, Auburn 10
No. 2 LSU vs. Unranked Auburn · 2-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
2012Week 6
Florida State at NC State
Florida State 16, NC State 17
No. 3 Florida State vs. Unranked NC State · 1-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
2012Week 121OT
Ohio State at Wisconsin
Ohio State 21, Wisconsin 14
No. 6 Ohio State vs. Unranked Wisconsin · 7-point margin
Ranking 20/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 9/15
57
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.