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Unlike other popular team sports (basketball, specifically), football games don't feature high scores. Both in college and the pros, teams rarely score beyond the 50-point mark. But when they do, they become legends in their own right.
Here are the five highest-scoring college football games ever and the circumstances as to why the score blew up the way it did. We're not just including D1 but also FBS, FCS, D2, and D3 football.
Five highest-scoring college football games
#5. Oklahoma vs. Kingfisher, 179-0, 1917
Way before we knew the Oklahoma Sooners as we know them today, they figured in a 179-0 shutout of Kingfisher College in 1916. There is virtually zero information on this game besides being held in Boyd Field in Norman, OK.
Oklahoma was a great team during the first decade of the 20th century. They had undefeated seasons in 1915 and 1918 (via Sports Reference). So, seeing this kind of result against Kingfisher College — a school almost no one knows about today in terms of football. That likely helped it become one of the highest-scoring college football games ever, and there was virtually no competition.
#4. Central Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma City, 183-0, 1916
The Central Oklahoma Bronchos shut out the then Oklahoma City Chiefs 183-0 in this game from 1916. Once again, there is barely any info on this game due to the age of the statistic itself. The Bronchos are still an active D2 team, while the Chiefs program was dissolved after the 1949 season.
#3. St. Viator vs. Lane (IL), 205-0, 1916
There were two 180+ point college football games in 1916. This one between the St. Viator College and Lane (IL) in Illinois happened in Bourbonnais. The most immediately accessible info about this game directly suggests that it was on the October 15, 1916, issue of the Chicago Tribune.
Both schools seem to be now defunct. St. Viator College stopped operation in 1938, and the only immediate mention of a school in Illinois called Lane is that of an elementary school (via D181.org). So, this game is a record of an era long gone.
#2. King (TN) vs. Lenoir-Rhyne, 206-0, 1922
The current D2 team, King University, faced the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears, another D2 school, in 1922. The Tornado shut out the Bears 206-0 in just another game that has barely any info on it. Well, that, aside from a quick snippet on the 2010 version of the King University athletics website, accessible via the WayBackMachine. It explains why the university has the Tornado as its mascot. It says:
"King's mascot, the Tornado, was adopted in 1922 following a 206-0 football win over North Carolina rival Lenoir College (now Lenoir-Rhyne College). The Bristol Herald Courier headline on Sunday, October 22, 1922 read "King College's Victory Was 'Tornado' Of Week's Games" and began referring to the football team as the "Tornado". This is a record score which stands in the annals of collegiate football as one of the highest ever won on the gridiron."
#1. Georgia Tech vs. Cumberland, 222-0, 1916
Atop this list is the matchup between Georgia Tech and Cumberland College (now Cumberland University).
John Heisman, the very one after whom the famed trophy is named, was the coach of the Yellowjackets at the time. They were one of the powerhouse CFB teams back then. Cumberland, on the other hand, had shut down its football program before going into the game. But their game against Georgia Tech was already scheduled, and the Yellowjackets didn't want to postpone it (via ESPN).
As a result, the Cumberland Bulldogs put a team together at the very last minute, basically from scratch. They had no choice because canceling the game would've meant they'd pay roughly $81,500 in 2023 money, adjusted for inflation.
So the game began, and Georgia Tech scored 32 total TDs, had 63, 63, 54, and 42 points for the four quarters, and never allowed the Bulldogs a first down.
