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AP upset archive

Biggest College Football Upsets of 2003

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

15

Unranked winners

0

Market-confirmed

Top 25 AP upsets

  1. Historic upsetWeek 6Home

    Unranked California 34, No. 3 USC 31

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 46/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    92

    AP score

  2. Historic upsetWeek 10Home

    Unranked West Virginia 28, No. 3 Virginia Tech 7

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 46/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    92

    AP score

  3. Historic upsetWeek 12Home

    Unranked Clemson 26, No. 3 Florida State 10

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 46/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    92

    AP score

  4. Historic upsetWeek 8Home

    No. 23 Wisconsin 17, No. 3 Ohio State 10

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 40/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    86

    AP score

  5. Historic upsetWeek 5Home

    No. 22 Oregon 31, No. 3 Michigan 27

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 38/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    84

    AP score

  6. Historic upsetWeek 11Home

    No. 23 Florida 16, No. 4 Georgia 13

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 38/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    82

    AP score

  7. Historic upsetWeek 12Home

    No. 25 Pittsburgh 31, No. 5 Virginia Tech 28

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 42/50 · Rank gap 40/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    82

    AP score

  8. Historic upsetWeek 4Road

    Unranked Arkansas 38, No. 6 Texas 28

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 40/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    80

    AP score

  9. Historic upsetWeek 5Road

    Unranked Marshall 27, No. 6 Kansas State 20

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 40/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    80

    AP score

  10. Historic upsetWeek 8Road

    Unranked Florida 19, No. 6 LSU 7

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 40/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    80

    AP score

  11. Historic upsetWeek 7Home

    Unranked Auburn 28, No. 7 Tennessee 21

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 38/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    76

    AP score

  12. Historic upsetWeek 8Road

    Unranked Auburn 10, No. 7 Arkansas 3

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 38/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    76

    AP score

  13. Historic upsetCHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWLHome

    Unranked Clemson 27, No. 7 Tennessee 14

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 38/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    76

    AP score

  14. Major upsetWeek 16Road

    No. 13 Kansas State 35, No. 1 Oklahoma 7

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 24/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    74

    AP score

    Full Game · 2003 Oklahoma vs. Kansas State (Big 12 Championship Game Full Game)

  15. Major upsetWeek 14Home

    Unranked Washington 27, No. 8 Washington State 19

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 36/50 · Rank gap 36/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    72

    AP score

  16. Major upsetWeek 5Home

    Unranked Toledo 35, No. 9 Pittsburgh 31

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 34/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    68

    AP score

  17. Major upsetWeek 11Home

    No. 10 Virginia Tech 31, No. 2 Miami 7

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 16/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    64

    AP score

  18. Major upsetWeek 12Road

    No. 18 Tennessee 10, No. 6 Miami 6

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 24/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    64

    AP score

  19. Major upsetWeek 8Home

    Unranked Missouri 41, No. 10 Nebraska 24

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 32/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    64

    AP score

  20. Major upsetWeek 14Home

    Unranked Southern Miss 40, No. 10 TCU 28

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 32/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    64

    AP score

  21. Major upsetWeek 7Home

    No. 23 Iowa 30, No. 9 Michigan 27

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 28/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    62

    AP score

  22. Major upsetWeek 9Road

    Unranked Florida 33, No. 11 Arkansas 28

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 30/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    60

    AP score

  23. Major upsetPostseasonHome

    No. 15 Washington State 28, No. 6 Texas 20

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 18/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    58

    AP score

  24. Major upsetWeek 14Road

    Unranked Boston College 34, No. 12 Virginia Tech 27

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 28/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance

    56

    AP score

  25. Major upsetNOKIA SUGAR BOWLHome

    No. 3 LSU 21, No. 1 Oklahoma 14

    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 · 2003 LSU vs. Oklahoma (Bowl Full Game)

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.