AP upset archive
Biggest College Football Upsets of 1987
The season's 14 strongest AP-defined upsets, led by the quality of the ranked team defeated and the game-time ranking gap.
14
Upsets ranked
7
Unranked winners
0
Market-confirmed
Top 14 AP upsets
- Major upsetWeek 13Home
Unranked Penn State 21, No. 10 Notre Dame 20
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 32/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
64
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 7Home
Unranked Pittsburgh 30, No. 11 Notre Dame 22
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 30/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
60
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 2 Miami 20, No. 1 Oklahoma 14
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
Full Game · 1987 Miami vs. Oklahoma (Bowl Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 9Road
Unranked NC State 30, No. 14 Clemson 28
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 24/50 · Rank gap 24/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
48
AP score
- UpsetWeek 13Home
No. 17 USC 17, No. 11 UCLA 13
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 12/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
42
AP score
- UpsetWeek 4Road
Unranked Florida 23, No. 17 Alabama 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 11Road
No. 11 Alabama 22, No. 10 LSU 10
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
34
AP score
- UpsetWeek 8Home
No. 17 Alabama 41, No. 13 Tennessee 22
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
34
AP score
- UpsetWeek 10Home
Unranked Iowa 29, No. 18 Indiana 21
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. 13 Texas A&M 35, No. 12 Notre Dame 10
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
30
AP score
- UpsetWeek 10Home
Unranked Boston College 20, No. 19 Tennessee 18
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 14/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
28
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
Unranked Texas 32, No. 19 Pittsburgh 27
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 14/50 · Rank gap 14/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
28
AP score
- UpsetWeek 7Road
No. 20 Indiana 31, No. 17 Ohio State 10
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 18/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
24
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 20 Michigan 28, No. 18 Alabama 24
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 16/50 · Rank gap 4/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
20
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.