Football games, unlike other popular team sports (particularly basketball), do not have high scoring. Teams rarely score more than 50 points in college or the pros. When they do, though, they become legendary in their own right. Here are the five highest-scoring college football games of all time, along with the factors that caused the score to skyrocket. We are not only including D1 football, but also FBS, FCS, D2, and D3 football.
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#5. Oklahoma vs. Kingfisher, 1917 – Except for the fact that it was played at Boyd Field in Norman, OK, little is known about this game. Oklahoma was a fantastic squad in the first decade of the twentieth century. They went undefeated in 1915 and 1918 (according to Sports Reference).
So, seeing this kind of result versus Kingfisher College — a football school that almost no one knows about today. That most certainly contributed to it becoming one of the highest-scoring college football games ever, and there was little competition.
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#4. Central Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma City, 1916 – In this 1916 game, the Central Oklahoma Bronchos defeated the then-Oklahoma City Chiefs 183-0. Due to the age of the statistics, there is little information on this game. The Bronchos are still a D2 team, although the Chiefs program was discontinued following the 1949 season.
Image Via: Oklahoma Historical Society
#3. St. Viator vs. Lane (IL), 1916 – In 1916, there were two 180-point collegiate football games. This one took place in Bourbonnais, Illinois, between St. Viator College and Lane (IL). The most readily available information about this game is that it appeared in the October 15, 1916, issue of the Chicago Tribune.
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Both schools appear to be closed. St. Viator College closed in 1938, and the only mention of a Lane school in Illinois is that of an elementary school (through D181.org). As a result, this game is a relic of a bygone period.
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#2. King (TN) vs. Lenoir-Rhyne, 1912 – In 1922, the current D2 team, King University, played the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears, another D2 school. The Tornado defeated the Bears 206-0 in yet another game with little information available. Aside from a small excerpt on the 2010 version of the King University athletics website, which may be accessed via the WayBackMachine. It explains why the Tornado is the university's mascot. It states:
Image Via: The Bristol Herald Courier
"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."
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#1. Georgia Tech vs. Cumberland, 1916 – John Heisman, the very one after whom the famed trophy is named, was the coach of the Yellowjackets. They were a dominant CFB team at the time. Cumberland, on the other hand, had suspended its football program prior to the game. However, their game versus Georgia Tech was previously arranged, and the Yellowjackets refused to cancel it (via ESPN).
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As a result, the Cumberland Bulldogs assembled a team at the last minute, almost from scratch. They didn't have an option because canceling the game would have cost them $81,500 in 2023 money, adjusted for inflation. So the game began, and Georgia Tech scored 32 total touchdowns, 63, 63, 54, and 42 points in four quarters, and never gave up a first down to the Bulldogs.
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