AP upset archive
Biggest College Football Upsets of 1973
The season's 11 strongest AP-defined upsets, led by the quality of the ranked team defeated and the game-time ranking gap.
11
Upsets ranked
4
Unranked winners
0
Market-confirmed
Top 11 AP upsets
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 3 Notre Dame 24, No. 1 Alabama 23
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 4/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
54
AP score
Full Game · 1973 Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Alabama (Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 10Home
Unranked Utah 36, No. 14 Arizona State 31
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 24/50 · Rank gap 24/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
48
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 12 Nebraska 19, No. 8 Texas 3
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 36/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
44
AP score
- UpsetWeek 10Road
Unranked Georgia 35, No. 16 Tennessee 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 9Home
No. 17 Colorado 17, No. 12 Missouri 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 10/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
38
AP score
- UpsetWeek 14Home
No. 17 Tulane 14, No. 13 LSU 0
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
34
AP score
- UpsetWeek 4Home
No. 18 Miami 20, No. 14 Texas 15
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 24/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
32
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
Unranked Georgia 17, No. 18 Maryland 16
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 16/50 · Rank gap 16/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
32
AP score
- UpsetWeek 12Home
Unranked Iowa State 17, No. 19 Missouri 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 14/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
28
AP score
- UpsetWeek 9Home
No. 19 Auburn 7, No. 18 Houston 0
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 16/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
18
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 20 Missouri 34, No. 19 Auburn 17
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 14/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
16
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.