College Football Upsets That Shocked Point Spreads
- Virginia Tech was on the wrong end of two top college football upsets.
- One of the top upsets in college football history took place in the 2024 season.
- USC wasn’t far removed from winning national titles when making the list of the biggest college football upsets.
It is not unusual to see a double-digit point underdog win in any week during the college football season. Even a team favored by 20 points can stub their toe. However, it is unusual for teams favored by college football spreads by at least 30 points to see the opponent pull off a stunning college football upset. Those games are often scheduled as easy wins, with the losing team happy to take a large paycheck to be a sacrificial lamp. There are times when that is not the case.
Mississippi State pulled off a huge upset against Florida A&M during the 2024 season, making it one of the teams that won as underdogs by more than 30 points.
Early in the 2024 season, Oregon opened as a 61.5-point favorite against Idaho. Yes, 61.5 is correct. At kickoff, it was a 49.5-point spread, with Oregon getting a little more of a fight than anticipated in a 24-14 victory as the Ducks avoided being part of one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
Georgia was favored by 33.5 to 34.5 points against visiting Mississippi State in Week 7 of the 2024 college football season, and things were a little too close for comfort in a 41-31 victory. Mississippi State also covered as a 37.5-point underdog during a 35-13 loss to Texas.
James Madison squeaked by Gardner Webb as a 37.5-point favorite, coming away with a 13-6 victory. Arizona topped Northern Arizona when favored by 37 points.
Let’s look at the ten games when the underdogs pulled off the shockers to end all shockers. Don’t expect to see many of the winningest college football coaches as a part of this list.
Breaking Down The Biggest College Football Upsets
1. Howard 43, UNLV 40, Sept. 2, 2017
Howard went to Las Vegas for the 2017 season opener and made history. UNLV was favored by 45.5 points only to be on the wrong end of a stunning upset.
Caylin Newton, the brother of former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, ran for 190 yards and two touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass. His short scoring run midway through the fourth quarter put Howard in front as UNLV squandered a 12-point lead. This leads the way in a list of the biggest college football upsets.
2. Stanford 24, USC 23, Oct. 6, 2007
Back when USC was still a major player on the national scene, the Trojans were on the wrong end of the biggest upset featuring two teams from the power conference. USC was only three years removed from having one of the best college football teams ever.
USC, favored by 40.5 points by the NCAAF point spreads, turned the ball over five times, and the winning points came with less than a minute to play on a Mark Bradford touchdown catch on fourth down. A Derek Belch extra point put the Cardinal up by a point with 48 seconds to play. Stanford would hold on as Jim Harbaugh, who would win his first conference game as Stanford’s head coach.
USC outgained Stanford 459-235 in the game and dominated every category except the final score.
3. Syracuse 38, Louisville 35, Sept. 22, 2007
A couple of weeks before the USC-Stanford game, Louisville was favored by 37 points, but its 20-game home winning streak came to an end.
Syracuse led by 17 points early in the fourth quarter as it was primed for the college football upset.
Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm threw for 555 yards in a loss. His fourth TD pass with 56 seconds left made it a three-point game, but Syracuse held on for the three-point win.
4. Temple 28, Virginia Tech 24, Oct. 17, 1998
A winless Temple team was the 35.5-point underdog against undefeated Virginia Tech, led early against a Temple team that had lost its last 26 Big East road games and had ten first-time starters.
As with the other upsets on this list, the favored team found ways to lose as the overwhelming favorite. There were some costly turnovers and missed field goals.
5. Texas State 30, Houston 13, Sept. 1, 2012
Texas State made quite the first impression when facing a Houston team coming off a 13-1 season. The Bobcats were 35-point underdogs in their first game at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
Marcus Curry ran for two touchdowns, and Texas State held Houston to just three points in the second half to win the upset.
Texas State outgained Houston by more than 100 yards, so this game had a different vibe than the other games on this list.
6. Central Michigan 21, Western Michigan 17, Nov. 11, 2000
Central Michigan had lost seven in a row and allowed at least 31 points in six of those games. The losing streak was expected to continue against a Western Michigan team rolling along with eight wins in a row.
The defense held up as Central Michigan won 21-17 as the 34.5-point underdog.
7. Liberty 48, Baylor 45, Sept. 2, 2017
The second game from Sept. 2, 2017, to make this list. Liberty got more than 450 passing yards from Stephen Calvert to stun the fans in Waco, Texas, as new Baylor head coach Matt Rhule lost in his debut with the Bears.
With Baylor leading late in the third quarter, Calvert threw for two scores and ran for another as Liberty won outright as a 34-point underdog in a game when both teams had more than 500 yards in total offense.
8. James Madison 21, Virginia Tech 16, Sept. 11, 2010
Congratulations to the Virginia Tech Hokies for making this list twice. This time, James Madison, still playing at the Football Championship Subdivision level, was a 33.5-point underdog when the teams met early in the 2010 season.
Virginia Tech had an early nine-point lead, but James Madison scored the only two touchdowns in the second half to win despite being outgained 362-235.
9. Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32, Sept. 1, 2007
Other games might have had larger point spreads, but casual football fans would likely name the Appalachian State-Michigan clash as the biggest upset.
The visitors had won a pair of FCS national titles but figures to be overmatched by Michigan. It came down to special teams. James Madison made a field goal in the final 30 seconds to take the lead and then blocked Michigan’s potential game-winning kick.
10. UL Monroe 31, Liberty 28, Oct. 16, 2021
Liberty somehow made the list on both ends thanks to a Calum Sutherland’s 53-yard field goal with less than two minutes to play.
Future NFL quarterback Malik Willis’ second touchdown run of the game tied things for a Liberty team favored by 32.5 points. However, his three interceptions played a key role in the upset loss.
11. Mississippi Valley State 24, Florida A&M 21, Nov. 16, 2024
A winless Mississippi Valley State team had lost six games by at least 20 points, and it figured to be more of the game when facing Florida A&M.
However, a 17-point second quarter gave Mississippi Valley State a 14-point lead at halftime. Florida A&M, favored by 32.5 points, pulled within three points on a Daniel Richardson touchdown pass with 8:53 to play but could not complete the comeback.
