AP upset archive
Biggest College Football Upsets of 1998
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
8
Unranked winners
0
Market-confirmed
Top 25 AP upsets
- Historic upsetPostseasonNeutral
Unranked Purdue 37, No. 4 Kansas State 34
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 15Home
No. 24 Miami 49, No. 6 UCLA 45
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 36/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
76
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 11Road
Unranked Michigan State 28, No. 7 Ohio State 24
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 38/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
76
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 8 Texas A&M 36, No. 4 Kansas State 33
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
Full Game · 1998 Texas A&M vs. Kansas State (Big 12 Championship Game Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 14Home
No. 20 Texas 26, No. 10 Texas A&M 24
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 20/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 13Home
No. 25 Mississippi State 22, No. 13 Arkansas 21
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 24/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
50
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 3Home
No. 20 NC State 24, No. 11 Florida State 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 18/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
48
AP score
- Major upsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 9 Wisconsin 38, No. 6 UCLA 31
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
46
AP score
- UpsetWeek 7Home
No. 10 Texas A&M 28, No. 8 Nebraska 21
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 36/50 · Rank gap 4/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
40
AP score
- UpsetWeek 14Home
Unranked USC 10, No. 16 Notre Dame 0
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 20/50 · Rank gap 20/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
40
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 15 Michigan 45, No. 11 Arkansas 31
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
38
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 19 Georgia 35, No. 13 Virginia 33
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 12/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
38
AP score
- UpsetWeek 10Road
No. 20 Texas 20, No. 14 Nebraska 16
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 24/50 · Rank gap 12/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
36
AP score
- UpsetWeek 8Home
No. 20 Georgia Tech 41, No. 16 Virginia 38
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 20/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
28
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
Unranked TCU 28, No. 19 USC 19
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 Idaho 42, No. 21 Southern Miss 35
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 10/50 · Rank gap 10/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
20
AP score
- UpsetWeek 9Road
No. 25 Miami 34, No. 21 West Virginia 31
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 10/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
18
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 24 Colorado 51, No. 21 Oregon 43
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 10/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
16
AP score
- UpsetWeek 13Home
Unranked Oregon State 44, No. 22 Oregon 41
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 8/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
16
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 23 Missouri 34, No. 21 West Virginia 31
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 10/50 · Rank gap 4/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
14
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 25 Virginia Tech 38, No. 22 Alabama 7
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 8/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
14
AP score
- UpsetWeek 3Home
Unranked Michigan State 45, No. 23 Notre Dame 23
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 6/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
12
AP score
- UpsetWeek 8Road
Unranked Temple 28, No. 23 Virginia Tech 24
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 6/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
12
AP score
- UpsetWeek 12Home
No. 24 Syracuse 28, No. 23 Virginia Tech 26
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 6/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
8
AP score
- UpsetPostseasonNeutral
No. 24 Miami 46, No. 23 NC State 23
AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 6/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
No betting line · Pregame win chance —
8
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.