AP upset archive
Biggest College Football Upsets of 1954
The season's 25 strongest AP-defined upsets, led by the quality of the ranked team defeated and the game-time ranking gap.
25
Upsets ranked
19
Unranked winners
0
Market-confirmed
Top 25 AP upsets
- Historic upsetWeek 4Home
Unranked Michigan 14, No. 4 Iowa 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 44/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
88
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 3Road
No. 19 Purdue 27, No. 1 Notre Dame 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 36/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
86
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 2Road
Unranked Florida 13, No. 5 Georgia Tech 12
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 42/50 · Rank gap 42/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
84
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 2Road
Unranked Penn State 14, No. 6 Illinois 12
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 40/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
80
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 8Home
Unranked Auburn 14, No. 6 Miami 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 40/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
80
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 7Road
Unranked Pittsburgh 13, No. 7 West Virginia 10
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 38/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
76
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 9Road
No. 19 SMU 21, No. 4 Arkansas 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 30/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
74
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 6Home
Unranked Michigan 34, No. 8 Minnesota 0
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 36/50 · Rank gap 36/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
72
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 7Home
Unranked Iowa 13, No. 8 Wisconsin 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 36/50 · Rank gap 36/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
72
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 4Road
Unranked TCU 20, No. 9 USC 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 34/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
68
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 5Home
Unranked Pittsburgh 21, No. 9 Navy 19
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 34/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
68
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 10Home
Unranked LSU 7, No. 9 Arkansas 6
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 34/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
68
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 11Road
Unranked Rice 20, No. 9 Baylor 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 34/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
68
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 5Road
No. 18 Army 28, No. 6 Duke 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 24/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
64
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 3Home
Unranked Miami 19, No. 11 Baylor 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 30/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
60
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 6Road
Unranked Nebraska 20, No. 11 Colorado 6
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 30/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
60
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 7Road
Unranked Indiana 13, No. 11 Michigan 9
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 30/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
60
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 1Road
Unranked Oklahoma 27, No. 12 California 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 28/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
56
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 6Road
Unranked Mississippi State 12, No. 12 Alabama 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 28/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
56
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 9Road
Unranked Wichita State 13, No. 12 Cincinnati 0
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 28/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
56
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 6Home
No. 4 Ohio State 31, No. 2 Wisconsin 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 4/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 2Home
No. 12 Iowa 14, No. 7 Michigan State 10
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 10/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
48
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 10Road
No. 20 Baylor 33, No. 11 SMU 21
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 18/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
48
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 1Road
Unranked Southern Miss 7, No. 14 Alabama 2
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 24/50 · Rank gap 24/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
48
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 4Road
Unranked Clemson 14, No. 14 Florida 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 24/50 · Rank gap 24/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
48
AP score
How the ranking works
An upset qualifies only when the winner was unranked or ranked below an AP Top 25 opponent at kickoff. Regular-season games use that game's AP poll week; postseason games use the last regular-season AP poll before bowl and playoff results. The 100-point score splits evenly between defeated-opponent strength and ranking gap. Betting lines and pregame win probability are shown separately as supporting evidence and never change the AP score, so missing market data cannot lower a game.