Unforgettable Upsets: Defining Moments in College Football History

College football is a sport known for its unpredictable nature, where David can, and often does, defeat Goliath. These upsets, whether a small program triumphing over a national powerhouse or a mid-season shocker derailing a title contender, leave an indelible mark on the sport. This article delves into some of the most significant upsets in college football history, examining the factors that contributed to their magnitude and lasting impact.

Selection Criteria

With a wealth of upsets to choose from, our selection criteria focused on playoff implications, point spreads, and overall significance in compiling these defining moments.

Early Era Upsets (1901-1959)

The early years of college football were ripe with surprising outcomes, often fueled by innovative strategies and sheer determination.

1901: Northwestern 17, Illinois 11 (October 26)

The Wildcats, rebounding from a significant loss to Michigan, handed their undefeated in-state rival, Illinois, their first loss of the season.

1902: Lafayette 6, Brown 5 (November 1)

Brown, who finished the season rated #14 in the retroactive polls, suffered only one loss prior to this game, to powerhouses Yale and Harvard.

1903: Princeton 11, Yale 6 (November 14)

The Tigers derailed Yale’s bid for a second consecutive national title with this late-season stunner.

1904: Army 11, Yale 6 (October 22)

The Black Knights bounced back from a loss to Harvard just five days earlier, handing Yale its lone loss of the 1904 season. The Bulldogs would not lose again until 1908.

1905: Chicago 2, Michigan 0 (November 30)

The Maroons handed the Wolverines their first loss since 1900 in their season finale. Michigan had won every game over the past two seasons by double digits.

1906: Vanderbilt 4, Carlisle 0 (November 22)

The Commodores put southern football on the map with this upset of a Carlisle team that has been retroactively rated in the top 5 for that season.

1907: Cornell 6, Princeton 5 (October 26)

The Big Red bounced back from a crushing loss to Penn State a week before and handed the Tigers their first loss in two seasons.

1908: Dartmouth 10, Princeton 6 (November 7)

The Big Green handed Princeton their first loss of the season in front of 10,000 fans at the Polo Grounds. It was Dartmouth’s only win over a retroactively ranked team in 1908.

1909: Lafayette 6, Princeton 0 (October 23)

This stunning upset of the unbeaten Tigers occurred when the Leopards’ Frank Irmscher blocked a field goal with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and returned it for a touchdown. The New York Times called it “probably the most sensational finish that has ever been seen in a football game.”

1910: Ursinus 8, Penn 5 (September 24)

The Bears of Ursinus stunned the heavily favored Penn Quakers in their season opener. The loss ended up being the only one of a 1910 Quaker campaign that included wins over Penn State, Carlisle, West Virginia, and Cornell, and a tie against Michigan.

1911: Carlisle 18, Harvard 15 (November 11)

One of the greatest athletes of all time, Jim Thorpe, almost single-handedly pulled off one of the great road upsets of all time by scoring all 18 points for the Indians in this late-season shocker. It was the Crimson’s first loss to a team outside of the current Ivy League in four seasons.

1912: Penn 34, Carlisle 26 (November 16)

The Quakers handed Jim Thorpe’s Indians a shocking loss in this relative shootout, which came just a few months after Thorpe won two gold medals in track and field during the 1912 Summer Olympics.

Read also: Overview of College Rivalries

1913: Notre Dame 35, Army 13 (November 1)

This road upset not only established the Fighting Irish as a national power but also changed the way the forward pass was used in college football, as the Irish passing attack was used to throw to receivers in stride for the first time. The little-known Fighting Irish, lightly regarded by the Eastern football establishment, made innovative use of the still-rare forward pass to flummox the Cadets.

1914: Auburn 14, Georgia Tech 0 (November 7)

This upset of John Heisman’s Yellow Jackets was Georgia Tech’s last loss against a southern foe for the next five seasons.

1915: Cornell 10, Harvard 0 (October 23)

The “Big Red Machine,” as they were called, stunned Harvard en route to a national title. This was the Crimson’s first loss to anyone in four seasons and Cornell’s first-ever win over their Ivy League rival.

1916: Illinois 14, Minnesota 9 (November 4)

A seemingly unbeatable Golden Gopher squad was stunned at home by an Illini team that ended the season with a mere .500 record. Before the game, the coach for Illinois, Bob Zuppke, told his team, “I am Louis XIV and you are my court. After us the deluge.” Perhaps no coach in any sport, other than Phil Jackson, has so bewildered his players.

1917: Wisconsin 10, Minnesota 7 (November 3)

For the second consecutive season, the Golden Gophers had their national title hopes dashed during the first weekend of November with a narrow loss to a mediocre Big Ten foe.

1918: Cleveland Naval Reserve 10, Pittsburgh 9 (November 30)

The Panthers saw their 32-game winning streak come to an end thanks to a pair of clock controversies at the end of both the first and second halves.

1919: Brown 7, Dartmouth 6 (November 15)

The Bears spoiled the Big Green’s perfect season and national title hopes with this neutral site upset. Brown entered this contest as losers of four of their previous five games.

1920: California 28, Ohio State 0 (Rose Bowl)

The Golden Bears shocked the nation with this dominant win over Ohio State in what was just their fifth season since their football program was created. The loss was so bad that the Big Ten banned their member schools from participating in the Rose Bowl for the next 26 seasons!

1921: Centre 6, Harvard 0 (October 29)

One of the greatest early college football upsets, the Praying Colonels snapped the Crimson’s 25-game unbeaten streak.

1922: Brown 3, Harvard 0 (November 18)

The Crimson lost consecutive home games for the first time in 15 years thanks to this surprising upset.

1923: Colgate 16, Syracuse 7 (November 17)

The Orange were denied their first perfect season in school history as a result of this home upset from the Raiders. Syracuse wouldn’t finish a season unbeaten until 1959.

1924: Minnesota 20, Illinois 7 (November 15)

The Gophers, who had not won a game in over a month, spoiled Red Grange and Illinois’ perfect season with this late-season stunner.

1925: Alabama 20, Washington 19 (Rose Bowl)

This was the game that put Alabama football on the map, as the Tide pulled off a stunning upset with a second-half comeback.

1926: Carnegie Tech 19, Notre Dame 0 (November 27)

The Irish entered the game with a streak of eight straight shutout victories, yet they were the ones shut out on this snow day in Pittsburgh. Rockne was so confident of an Irish win he didn’t even show up for the game.

1927: Georgia Tech 12, Georgia 0 (December 3)

The Golden Tornadoes, as they were known at the time, stunned Georgia’s “Dream and Wonder” squad on a muddy field in the season finale, ending their perfect season and preventing them from winning a national title.

1928: Michigan 3, Illinois 0 (November 3)

The Wolverines bounced back from an 0-4 start to the season that included a loss to lowly Ohio Wesleyan to beat this unbeaten Illini squad that wouldn’t give up another point for the remainder of the season.

1929: Indiana 19, Northwestern 14 (November 16)

The Hoosiers, who were winless in their last six, stunned a 6-1 Northwestern squad on the road in this late-season upset.

1930: Saint Mary’s 20, Fordham 12 (November 15)

The undefeated Rams had their national title hopes spoiled by a Gaels squad in an upset so big that President Herbert Hoover hosted the Saint Mary’s squad at the White House.

1931: Southern Cal 16, Notre Dame 14 (November 21)

The Trojans ended Notre Dame’s 26-game winning streak and got their first-ever win in South Bend with this stunner that the USC yearbook stated was “the biggest upset since Mrs. O’Leary’s cow knocked over that lantern.”

1932: Georgia Tech 6, Alabama 0 (November 12)

A 2-4 Yellow Jacket squad stunned a 6-1 Bama team in what would be Georgia Tech’s last home victory over the Tide for the next decade.

1933: Columbia 7, Stanford 0 (Rose Bowl)

The Lions were selected for this game to give the Indians of Stanford an “easy” postseason win. Columbia ruined the party with this stunning upset thanks to a 3rd-quarter reverse that was run in for a touchdown on a field that had basically deteriorated due to a torrential downpour. Far from being the East’s best team, so-so Columbia had been chosen to give Stanford an easy opponent while maintaining a veneer of credibility. The Lions spoiled this plan by scoring the game’s only points on a naked reverse in the third quarter.

1934: Wisconsin 7, Illinois 3 (November 17)

The Badgers, who entered this game losing 3 of their last 4, destroyed Illinois’ unbeaten season and national title hopes with this homecoming weekend upset of the Illini.

1935: Northwestern 14, Notre Dame 7 (October 5)

The 2-3 Wildcats got their first-ever win in South Bend and simultaneously extinguished the Irish’s perfect season and national title hopes.

1936: (6) Santa Clara 21, (2) LSU 14 (Sugar Bowl)

The Broncos bounced back from an end-of-regular-season loss to Sammy Baugh’s TCU squad to stun the unbeaten Tigers and deny them a chance at a national championship.

1937: Notre Dame 7, (4) Minnesota 6 (October 30)

The unranked Irish, who lost to lowly Carnegie Tech just two weeks before, upset the 4th-ranked Golden Gophers, who outscored their opponents 184 to 50 throughout the season, on the road.

1938: (19) Carnegie Tech 20, (1) Pittsburgh 10 (November 5)

The hometown Tartans ended the top-ranked Panthers' 22-game winning streak and extinguished their national title hopes with this road upset.

1939: Illinois 16, (2) Michigan 7 (November 4)

An 0-4 Illini squad shocked the 2nd-ranked Wolverines thanks to an astonishing eight turnovers (5 interceptions and 3 lost fumbles) committed by Michigan.

1940: Arkansas 21, (14) Ole Miss 20 (October 26)

An unbeaten Rebel squad had their national title hopes dashed thanks to this neutral site upset (game was played in Memphis) that came at the hands of a Razorback squad who ended the season with a 4-6 overall record.

1941: (12) Oregon State 20, (2) Duke 16 (Rose Bowl)

The Beavers pulled off a huge road upset in the lone Rose Bowl game that was moved to Durham because of fear of an attack from the Japanese. Bob Dethman came up with a game-saving interception on the final play of the game.

1942: Iowa Pre-Flight 7, Minnesota 6 (October 3)

This was the Golden Gophers’ first loss in three years, ending their 18-game winning streak, which was the longest in the country at the time.

1943: (6) Great Lakes Navy 19, (1) Notre Dame 14 (November 27)

The Irish became the only team in college football history to lose their season finale and still maintain their #1 ranking after this upset loss to a Blue Jacket squad made up of several former college football players and coaches who had enlisted in the Navy during wartime.

1944: North Carolina Pre-Flight 21, Navy 14 (September 30)

The Midshipmen, who were a national champion favorite, suffered a stunning season-opening loss to a Cloudbuster squad (yes, that was actually their mascot) they had defeated 31-0 the previous season.

1945: Rice 7, (9) Texas 6 (October 27)

The eventual Cotton Bowl champions suffered their only loss of the season at home against the 1-4 Owls.

1946: Virginia Tech 14, (12) NC State 6 (October 26)

A winless Gobbler squad (precursor to their later Hokies mascot) picked up their first win over a ranked opponent in school history with this upset over the unbeaten Wolfpack.

1947: Columbia 21, (6) Army 20 (October 25)

The Cadets, as they were known at the time, had their 32-game win streak ended by an unranked Columbia squad who entered the game on a two-game losing streak.

1948: Missouri 20, SMU 14 (October 9)

The Mustangs suffered what ended up being their only loss of the season to an unranked Mizzou squad in their home opener. This was a tremendous upset considering the Mustangs were led by that season’s Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker and six other future NFL draft picks. In 1946 Army had barely staved off the Midshipmen in a classic 21-17 victory. In 1948 winless Navy had held undefeated Army to a 21-21 tie.

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