1966 College Football Final Rankings

We continue our historical rankings project with 1966. 1966 was famous for "The Tie" - a "game of the century" between #1 ranked Notre Dame and #2 ranked Michigan State on November 12th that ended in a tie. In the final polls, Notre Dame was ranked 1st and Michigan State was 2nd. But since the teams tied in their only head-to-head contest (a game played in East Lansing), which team actually had the better season? And what about undefeated, untied Alabama that started the season ranked #1 in the preseason polls? To resolve that question, here are the final rankings from our analysis of the 1966 college football season:

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-0-1) - 1.1
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0) - 1.9
3. Michigan State Spartans (9-0-1) - 3.0
4. Wyoming Cowboys (10-1) - 4.0
5. Georgia Bulldogs (10-1) - 6.2
(tie) Harvard Crimson (8-1) - 6.2
7. Ole Miss Rebels (8-3) - 6.9
8. Tennessee Volunteers (8-3) - 7.8
9. Purdue Boilermakers (9-2) - 9.4
10. UCLA Bruins (9-1) - 11.2
11. Florida Gators (9-2) - 12.0
(tie) Houston Cougars (8-2) - 12.0
13. Miami University RedHawks (9-1) - 12.6
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-2) - 13.1
15. USC Trojans (7-4) - 14.6
16. Miami Hurricanes (8-2-1) - 16.2
17. Dartmouth Big Green (7-2) - 16.8
18. Arkansas Razorbacks (8-2) - 18.5
19. BYU Cougars (8-2) - 20.3
20. Texas Longhorns (7-4) - 21.1
21. North Texas Mean Green (8-2) - 21.5
22. Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-2) - 22.6
23. Colgate Raiders (8-1-1) - 22.8
(tie) Syracuse Orange (8-3) - 22.8
25. Florida State Seminoles (6-5) - 25.4
26. SMU Mustangs (8-3) - 26.1
27. New Mexico State Aggies (7-3) - 26.7
28. Princeton Tigers (7-2) - 28.1
29. West Texas A&M Buffaloes (7-3) - 29.4
30. Colorado Buffaloes (7-3) - 30.1
31. Oklahoma Sooners (6-4) - 30.5
32. UTEP Miners (6-4) - 31.2
33. Colorado State Rams (7-3) - 32.4
34. Army Black Knights (8-2) - 34.0
35. Virginia Tech Hokies (8-2-1) - 35.3
36. Baylor Bears (5-5) - 36.2
(tie) Memphis Tigers (7-2) - 36.2
38. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6-4) - 37.3
39. Cornell Big Red (6-3) - 39.3
40. Bowling Green Falcons (6-3) - 40.3
41. Washington Huskies (6-4) - 41.0
42. Michigan Wolverines (6-4) - 41.2
43. Missouri Tigers (6-3-1) - 43.8
44. Dayton Flyers (8-2) - 45.0
45. LSU Tigers (5-4-1) - 45.2
46. Oregon State Beavers (7-3) - 46.9
47. Clemson Tigers (6-4) - 48.3
48. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-5) - 49.0
49. Southern Miss Golden Eagles (6-4) - 50.6
50. Texas A&M Aggies (4-5-1) - 50.7
51. Navy Midshipmen (4-6) - 53.2
52. Tulane Green Wave (5-4-1) - 53.3
53. Kent State Golden Flashes (4-6) - 53.5
54. Duke Blue Devils (5-5) - 53.6
55. Arizona State Sun Devils (5-5) - 55.3
56. NC State Wolfpack (5-5) - 55.9
57. Utah Utes (5-5) - 57.3
58. Holy Cross Crusaders (6-3-1) - 57.6
59. Ohio Bobcats (5-5) - 58.9
60. Stanford Cardinal (5-5) - 59.1
61. Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-5-1) - 59.3
62. Air Force Falcons (4-6) - 61.3
63. Louisville Cardinals (6-4) - 61.6
64. Yale Bulldogs (4-5) - 64.5
65. Buffalo Bulls (5-5) - 64.7
66. Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-6) - 65.2
67. Western Michigan Broncos (7-3) - 66.7
68. Auburn Tigers (4-6) - 67.1
69. Illinois Fighting Illini (4-6) - 69.3
70. Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-5-1) - 71.8
71. Maryland Terrapins (4-6) - 72.6
(tie) William & Mary Tribe (5-4-1) - 72.6
73. Rice Owls (2-8) - 73.1
74. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-4) - 74.1
75. Virginia Cavaliers (4-6) - 75.0
76. Oregon Ducks (3-7) - 76.6
77. Kentucky Wildcats (3-6-1) - 77.4
78. Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-8) - 78.4
79. Utah State Aggies (4-6) - 78.5
80. Villanova Wildcats (6-3) - 79.6
81. Northwestern Wildcats (3-6-1) - 81.2
82. Toledo Rockets (2-7-1) - 81.9
83. Tampa Spartans (4-5) - 82.0
84. Xavier Musketeers (4-6) - 83.2
85. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-7) - 84.5
86. West Virginia Mountaineers (3-5-2) - 86.3
87. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-5) - 86.6
88. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-7) - 87.6
89. Boston College Eagles (4-6) - 88.2
90. Washington State Cougars (3-7) - 89.2
91. TCU Horned Frogs (2-8) - 90.0
92. Idaho Vandals (4-6) - 90.8
93. Iowa State Cyclones (2-6-2) - 93.5
94. California Golden Bears (3-7) - 93.8
95. Wisconsin Badgers (3-6-1) - 94.0
96. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-8) - 94.5
97. Arizona Wildcats (3-7) - 97.4
98. George Washington Colonials (4-6) - 97.8
(tie) San Jose State Spartans (3-7) - 97.8
100. Indiana Hoosiers (1-8-1) - 100.5
101. ECU Pirates (4-5-1) - 101.4
102. Kansas Jayhawks (2-7-1) - 101.6
103. South Carolina Gamecocks (1-9) - 103.5
104. Vanderbilt Commodores (1-9) - 103.6
105. Columbia Lions (2-7) - 107.2
106. Pennsylvania Relays (2-7) - 107.3
107. Davidson Wildcats (4-5) - 107.5
108. Pacific Tigers (4-7) - 108.9
109. Wichita State Shockers (2-8) - 109.8
110. Iowa Hawkeyes (2-8) - 110.1
111. VMI Keydets (2-8) - 111.8
112. New Mexico Lobos (2-8) - 113.1
113. Marshall Thundering Herd (2-8) - 113.7
114. Citadel Bulldogs (4-6) - 114.2
115. Brown Bears (1-8) - 115.0
116. Furman Paladins (2-7-1) - 116.7
117. Pittsburgh Panthers (1-9) - 117.9
118. Richmond Spiders (2-8) - 119.0
119. Kansas State Wildcats (0-9-1) - 119.5

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.