AP upset archive
Biggest College Football Upsets of 1972
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
17
Unranked winners
0
Market-confirmed
Top 25 AP upsets
- Historic upsetWeek 4Home
Unranked Oklahoma State 31, No. 3 Colorado 6
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 46/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
92
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 1Road
Unranked USC 31, No. 4 Arkansas 10
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 4Home
Unranked Auburn 10, No. 4 Tennessee 6
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 10Home
Unranked Michigan State 19, No. 5 Ohio State 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 8Home
Unranked Missouri 20, No. 7 Colorado 17
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 7Road
Unranked Missouri 30, No. 8 Notre Dame 26
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 10Home
Unranked Washington 30, No. 8 UCLA 21
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
No. 9 Colorado 20, No. 2 Oklahoma 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
62
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 13Home
No. 9 Auburn 17, No. 2 Alabama 16
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
62
AP score
Full Game · Punt, Bama, Punt: Auburn vs. Alabama (Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 4Home
Unranked Wyoming 45, No. 11 Arizona State 43
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 12Home
No. 9 Ohio State 14, No. 3 Michigan 11
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 12/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
58
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 3Road
No. 12 Michigan 26, No. 6 UCLA 9
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 12/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 5Road
Unranked Florida 42, No. 13 Florida State 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 26/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 7Home
Unranked Oregon 15, No. 13 Stanford 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 26/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 7 Texas 17, No. 4 Alabama 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
50
AP score
- UpsetWeek 10Road
Unranked TCU 31, No. 15 Texas Tech 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 22/50 · Rank gap 22/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
44
AP score
- UpsetWeek 2Home
No. 7 Tennessee 28, No. 6 Penn State 21
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
42
AP score
- UpsetWeek 11Home
No. 19 Missouri 6, No. 12 Iowa State 5
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
42
AP score
- UpsetWeek 3Home
Unranked Tulane 24, No. 16 Georgia 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 20/50 · Rank gap 20/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
40
AP score
- UpsetWeek 7Road
Unranked Navy 21, No. 16 Air Force 17
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 20/50 · Rank gap 20/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
40
AP score
- UpsetWeek 8Road
Unranked Air Force 39, No. 16 Arizona State 31
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 20/50 · Rank gap 20/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
40
AP score
- UpsetWeek 12Road
Unranked Kansas 28, No. 16 Missouri 17
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 20/50 · Rank gap 20/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
40
AP score
- UpsetWeek 6Home
No. 17 Stanford 24, No. 12 Washington 0
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 10/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
38
AP score
- UpsetWeek 9Road
Unranked Tulsa 28, No. 17 Louisville 26
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 18/50 · Rank gap 18/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
36
AP score
- UpsetWeek 12Home
Unranked Oklahoma State 45, No. 17 Iowa State 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 18/50 · Rank gap 18/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
36
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.