AP upset archive
Biggest College Football Upsets of 1985
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
14
Unranked winners
0
Market-confirmed
Top 25 AP upsets
- Historic upsetWeek 5Home
Unranked Tennessee 38, No. 1 Auburn 20
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 50/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
100
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 4Road
Unranked Baylor 20, No. 3 USC 13
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 6Home
Unranked Arizona 28, No. 3 SMU 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 8Road
Unranked Miami 27, No. 3 Oklahoma 14
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 12Road
Unranked Wisconsin 12, No. 3 Ohio State 7
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 8Road
Unranked Texas 15, No. 4 Arkansas 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 6Home
Unranked Illinois 31, No. 5 Ohio State 28
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 11Home
No. 17 Georgia 24, No. 1 Florida 3
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 32/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
82
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 9Home
Unranked UTEP 23, No. 7 BYU 16
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 38/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
76
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 13Home
Unranked Iowa State 15, No. 7 Oklahoma State 10
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 38/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
76
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 14Home
Unranked Alabama 25, No. 7 Auburn 23
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 13Home
Unranked USC 17, No. 8 UCLA 13
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 12Home
No. 16 BYU 28, No. 4 Air Force 21
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 24/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
68
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 12Home
Unranked Texas A&M 10, 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 10Home
No. 8 Ohio State 22, No. 1 Iowa 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
64
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 13 UCLA 45, No. 4 Iowa 28
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 18/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
62
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 2Road
No. 19 Penn State 20, No. 7 Maryland 18
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 24/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
62
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 8 Tennessee 35, No. 2 Miami 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 12/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
60
AP score
Full Game · 1985 Tennessee vs. Miami (Bowl Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 7Home
No. 12 Auburn 59, No. 4 Florida State 27
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 16/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
60
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 2Road
No. 20 UCLA 27, No. 8 BYU 24
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 36/50 · Rank gap 24/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
60
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 3 Oklahoma 25, No. 1 Penn State 10
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 · 1985 Oklahoma vs. Penn State (Bowl Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 13Home
No. 5 Oklahoma 27, No. 2 Nebraska 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
54
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 3Home
Unranked Michigan 20, No. 13 Notre Dame 12
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 5Home
Unranked Washington 21, No. 13 UCLA 14
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 7Road
No. 9 Nebraska 34, No. 5 Oklahoma State 24
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 42/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
50
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.