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AP upset archive

Biggest College Football Upsets of 2010

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

11

Unranked winners

0

Market-confirmed

Top 25 AP upsets

  1. Historic upsetWeek 6Home

    No. 19 South Carolina 35, No. 1 Alabama 21

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 36/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    86

    AP score

  2. Historic upsetWeek 7Home

    No. 18 Wisconsin 31, No. 1 Ohio State 18

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 34/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    84

    AP score

  3. Historic upsetWeek 7Road

    Unranked Texas 20, No. 5 Nebraska 13

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 42/50 · Rank gap 42/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    84

    AP score

  4. Historic upsetWeek 13Home

    No. 19 Nevada 34, No. 3 Boise State 31

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 32/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    78

    AP score

  5. Historic upsetWeek 8Home

    No. 18 Missouri 36, No. 3 Oklahoma 27

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 30/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    76

    AP score

  6. Historic upsetWeek 4Road

    Unranked UCLA 34, No. 7 Texas 12

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 38/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    76

    AP score

  7. Major upsetWeek 9Home

    No. 18 Iowa 37, No. 5 Michigan State 6

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 42/50 · Rank gap 26/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    68

    AP score

  8. Major upsetWeek 6Road

    Unranked Oregon State 29, No. 9 Arizona 27

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 34/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    68

    AP score

  9. Major upsetWeek 3Home

    No. 24 Arizona 34, No. 9 Iowa 27

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 30/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    64

    AP score

  10. Major upsetWeek 7Home

    Unranked Kentucky 31, No. 10 South Carolina 28

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 32/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    64

    AP score

  11. Major upsetWeek 10Home

    Unranked Texas A&M 33, No. 11 Oklahoma 19

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 30/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    60

    AP score

  12. Major upsetWeek 10Home

    No. 12 LSU 24, No. 5 Alabama 21

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 42/50 · Rank gap 14/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    56

    AP score

    Full Game · 2010 LSU vs. Alabama (Regular Season Full Game)

  13. Major upsetWeek 5Home

    No. 24 Michigan State 34, No. 11 Wisconsin 24

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 30/50 · Rank gap 26/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    56

    AP score

  14. Major upsetCAPITAL ONE BOWLNeutral

    No. 15 Alabama 49, No. 7 Michigan State 7

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 16/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    54

    AP score

    Full Game · 2010 Michigan State vs. Alabama (Citrus/Capital One Bowl Full Game)

  15. Major upsetWeek 13Home

    No. 12 Arkansas 31, No. 6 LSU 23

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 40/50 · Rank gap 12/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    52

    AP score

  16. Major upsetWeek 9Home

    No. 14 Nebraska 31, No. 7 Missouri 17

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 14/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    52

    AP score

  17. Major upsetWeek 12Home

    No. 18 Texas A&M 9, No. 9 Nebraska 6

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 18/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    52

    AP score

  18. Major upsetWeek 2Road

    Unranked James Madison 21, No. 13 Virginia Tech 16

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 26/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    52

    AP score

  19. Major upsetWeek 11Home

    Unranked Northwestern 21, No. 13 Iowa 17

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 26/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    52

    AP score

  20. Major upsetWeek 10Home

    Unranked Texas Tech 24, No. 14 Missouri 17

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 24/50 · Rank gap 24/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    48

    AP score

  21. Major upsetWeek 6Road

    No. 23 Florida State 45, No. 13 Miami 17

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 20/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    46

    AP score

  22. UpsetINSIGHT BOWLNeutral

    No. 24 Iowa 27, No. 14 Missouri 24

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 24/50 · Rank gap 20/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    44

    AP score

  23. UpsetWeek 1Home

    Unranked Utah 27, No. 15 Pittsburgh 24

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 22/50 · Rank gap 22/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    44

    AP score

  24. UpsetWeek 2Home

    Unranked Kansas 28, No. 15 Georgia Tech 25

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 22/50 · Rank gap 22/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    44

    AP score

  25. UpsetWeek 11Home

    Unranked Notre Dame 28, No. 15 Utah 3

    AP evidence · primary

    Opponent strength 22/50 · Rank gap 22/50

    Market evidence · supporting

    No betting line · Pregame win chance —

    View game details →

    44

    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.