AP upset archive
Biggest College Football Upsets of 1980
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
5
Unranked winners
0
Market-confirmed
Top 15 AP upsets
- Major upsetWeek 10Home
Unranked Arizona 23, No. 8 UCLA 17
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
No. 19 Mississippi State 6, No. 6 Alabama 3
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 26/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
66
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 4 Oklahoma 18, No. 2 Florida State 17
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 4/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
Full Game · 1980 Oklahoma vs. Florida State (Bowl Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 1Home
No. 10 Texas 23, No. 6 Arkansas 17
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
48
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 15Home
No. 12 USC 20, No. 7 Notre Dame 3
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 10/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
48
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 9 Alabama 30, No. 6 Baylor 2
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
46
AP score
- UpsetWeek 9Road
No. 19 SMU 20, No. 12 Texas 6
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
42
AP score
- UpsetWeek 10Road
Unranked San José State 30, No. 16 Baylor 22
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
No. 16 Washington 20, No. 12 USC 10
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
36
AP score
- UpsetWeek 11Road
Unranked Oregon 20, No. 17 UCLA 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 18/50 · Rank gap 18/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
36
AP score
- UpsetWeek 6Road
No. 11 Florida State 18, No. 10 Nebraska 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
34
AP score
- UpsetWeek 5Road
No. 15 Stanford 31, No. 12 Oklahoma 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
34
AP score
- UpsetWeek 3Home
Unranked Arizona State 29, No. 18 Houston 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 16/50 · Rank gap 16/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
32
AP score
- UpsetWeek 13Home
Unranked Clemson 27, No. 19 South Carolina 6
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 14/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
28
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 16 Purdue 28, No. 15 Missouri 25
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 22/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
24
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.