AP upset archive
Biggest College Football Upsets of 1979
The season's 15 strongest AP-defined upsets, led by the quality of the ranked team defeated and the game-time ranking gap.
15
Upsets ranked
6
Unranked winners
0
Market-confirmed
Top 15 AP upsets
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
Unranked Indiana 38, No. 9 BYU 37
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 14Home
Unranked Texas A&M 13, No. 11 Texas 7
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 7Home
Unranked Arizona State 12, No. 12 Washington 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 upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 3 USC 17, No. 1 Ohio State 16
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 4/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
54
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 5 Oklahoma 24, No. 4 Florida State 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
46
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 8 Houston 17, No. 7 Nebraska 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
40
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 13 Washington 14, No. 11 Texas 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 4/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
34
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 18 North Carolina 17, No. 14 Michigan 15
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 24/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
32
AP score
- UpsetWeek 4Road
Unranked Texas A&M 27, No. 18 Penn State 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 16/50 · Rank gap 16/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
32
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 19 Penn State 9, No. 15 Tulane 6
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 22/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
30
AP score
- UpsetWeek 7Road
Unranked Wake Forest 24, No. 19 North Carolina 19
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 14/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
28
AP score
- UpsetWeek 3Home
No. 20 UCLA 31, No. 17 Purdue 21
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 18/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
24
AP score
- UpsetWeek 6Home
Unranked Minnesota 31, No. 20 Purdue 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 12/50 · Rank gap 12/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
24
AP score
- UpsetWeek 6Home
No. 18 Auburn 44, No. 17 NC State 31
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 18/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
20
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 19 Baylor 24, No. 18 Clemson 18
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 16/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
18
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.