Season leaderboard

Top 25 College Football Games of 2016

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: 90/100
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.

2016Week 132OT
Michigan at Ohio State
Michigan 27, Ohio State 30
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 2 Ohio State · 3-point margin
Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 11/15
90
Game score
Highlight · 2016 Ohio State vs. Michigan (Regular Season Full Game)
2016CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PRESENTED BY AT&TNeutral site
Clemson vs. Alabama
Clemson 35, Alabama 31
No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 1 Alabama · 4-point margin
Ranking 48/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
79
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Alabama vs. Clemson (National Championship Full Game)
2016Week 71OT
Ohio State at Wisconsin
Ohio State 30, Wisconsin 23
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Wisconsin · 7-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 9/15
79
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Wisconsin vs. Ohio State (Regular Season Full Game)
2016Week 62OT
Tennessee at Texas A&M
Tennessee 38, Texas A&M 45
No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Texas A&M · 7-point margin
Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 11/15
74
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Texas A&M vs. Tennessee (Regular Season Full Game)
2016Week 5
Louisville at Clemson
Louisville 36, Clemson 42
No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 5 Clemson · 6-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Clemson vs. Louisville (Regular Season Full Game)
2016Week 91OT
Nebraska at Wisconsin
Nebraska 17, Wisconsin 23
No. 7 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Wisconsin · 6-point margin
Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 9/15
72
Game score
2016ROSE BOWL GAME PRES. BY NORTHWESTERN MUTUALNeutral site
USC vs. Penn State
USC 52, Penn State 49
No. 9 USC vs. No. 5 Penn State · 3-point margin
Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Penn State vs. USC (Rose Bowl Full Game)
2016Capital One Orange BowlNeutral site
Michigan vs. Florida State
Michigan 32, Florida State 33
No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 10 Florida State · 1-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
Highlight · 2016 Florida State vs. Michigan (Bowl Full Game)
2016Week 9
Clemson at Florida State
Clemson 37, Florida State 34
No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 12 Florida State · 3-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
69
Game score
2016Week 5
Wisconsin at Michigan
Wisconsin 7, Michigan 14
No. 8 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 Michigan · 7-point margin
Ranking 40/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
68
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Michigan vs. Wisconsin (Regular Season Full Game)
2016Week 14Neutral site
Wisconsin vs. Penn State
Wisconsin 31, Penn State 38
No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Penn State · 7-point margin
Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
66
Game score
Highlight · 2016 Penn State vs. Wisconsin (Regular Season Full Game)
2016PostseasonNeutral site
Washington vs. Alabama
Washington 7, Alabama 24
No. 4 Washington vs. No. 1 Alabama · 17-point margin
Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 18/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
Highlight · 2016 Alabama vs. Washington (Bowl Full Game)
2016Week 3
Alabama at Ole Miss
Alabama 48, Ole Miss 43
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 19 Ole Miss · 5-point margin
Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
62
Game score
2016Week 8
Texas A&M at Alabama
Texas A&M 14, Alabama 33
No. 6 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Alabama · 19-point margin
Ranking 45/50 · Closeness 16/35 · Overtime 0/15
61
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Alabama vs. Texas A&M (Regular Season Full Game)
2016Week 10
Alabama at LSU
Alabama 10, LSU 0
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 15 LSU · 10-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
61
Game score
2016Week 71OT
NC State at Clemson
NC State 17, Clemson 24
Unranked NC State vs. No. 3 Clemson · 7-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 9/15
60
Game score
2016GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSICNeutral site
Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin
Western Michigan 16, Wisconsin 24
No. 12 Western Michigan vs. No. 8 Wisconsin · 8-point margin
Ranking 32/50 · Closeness 27/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan (Cotton Bowl Full Game)
2016Week 9
Washington at Utah
Washington 31, Utah 24
No. 4 Washington vs. No. 17 Utah · 7-point margin
Ranking 31/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
2016Week 12OT
Notre Dame at Texas
Notre Dame 47, Texas 50
No. 10 Notre Dame vs. Unranked Texas · 3-point margin
Ranking 16/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 11/15
59
Game score
2016Week 14Neutral site
Clemson vs. Virginia Tech
Clemson 42, Virginia Tech 35
No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech · 7-point margin
Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Virginia Tech vs. Clemson (ACC Championship Game Full Game)
2016Week 12
Ohio State at Michigan State
Ohio State 17, Michigan State 16
No. 2 Ohio State vs. Unranked Michigan State · 1-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
2016Week 11
Michigan at Iowa
Michigan 13, Iowa 14
No. 2 Michigan vs. Unranked Iowa · 1-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
58
Game score
2016Week 11
Pittsburgh at Clemson
Pittsburgh 43, Clemson 42
Unranked Pittsburgh vs. No. 3 Clemson · 1-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
57
Game score
Highlight · 2016 Clemson vs. Pittsburgh (Regular Season Full Game)
2016Week 8
Ohio State at Penn State
Ohio State 21, Penn State 24
No. 2 Ohio State vs. Unranked Penn State · 3-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
56
Game score
Full Game · 2016 Penn State vs. Ohio State (Regular Season Full Game)
2016PostseasonNeutral site
Stanford vs. North Carolina
Stanford 25, North Carolina 23
No. 16 Stanford vs. No. 15 North Carolina · 2-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 33/35 · 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.