AP upset archive
Biggest College Football Upsets of 2021
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
16
Unranked winners
17
Market-confirmed
Top 25 AP upsets
- Historic upsetWeek 6Home
Unranked Texas A&M 41, No. 1 Alabama 38
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 50/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 18.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
100
AP score
Highlight · 2021 Texas A&M vs. Alabama (Regular Season Full Game)
- Historic upsetWeek 7Road
Unranked Purdue 24, No. 2 Iowa 7
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 48/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 11-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
96
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 5Home
Unranked Stanford 31, No. 3 Oregon 24
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 46/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 8.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
92
AP score
Highlight · 2021 Stanford vs. Oregon (Regular Season Full Game)
- Historic upsetWeek 12Home
No. 24 Utah 38, No. 4 Oregon 7
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 40/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 3-point favorite · Pregame win chance —
84
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 10Home
Unranked Purdue 40, No. 5 Michigan State 29
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 42/50 · Rank gap 42/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 2.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
84
AP score
- Historic upsetWeek 8Road
Unranked Illinois 20, No. 7 Penn State 18
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 38/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 24.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
76
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 11Home
No. 18 Baylor 27, No. 4 Oklahoma 14
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 44/50 · Rank gap 28/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 4-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
72
AP score
Highlight · 2021 Baylor vs. Oklahoma (Regular Season Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 8Home
Unranked Iowa State 24, No. 8 Oklahoma State 21
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 36/50 · Rank gap 36/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 7-point favorite · Pregame win chance —
72
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 4Home
Unranked NC State 27, No. 9 Clemson 21
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 34/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 10.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
68
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 9Home
Unranked Wisconsin 27, No. 9 Iowa 7
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 34/50 · Rank gap 34/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 3-point favorite · Pregame win chance —
68
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 2Road
No. 12 Oregon 35, No. 3 Ohio State 28
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 46/50 · Rank gap 18/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 14.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
64
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 1Home
Unranked Virginia Tech 17, No. 10 North Carolina 10
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 32/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 5.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
64
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 5Home
Unranked Kentucky 20, No. 10 Florida 13
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 32/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 7.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
64
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 6Road
Unranked Boise State 26, No. 10 BYU 17
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 32/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 6.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
64
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 10Home
Unranked North Carolina 58, No. 10 Wake Forest 55
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 32/50 · Rank gap 32/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 2.5-point favorite · Pregame win chance —
64
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 14Neutral
No. 4 Alabama 41, No. 1 Georgia 24
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 6/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 6-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
56
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 13Home
No. 6 Michigan 42, No. 2 Ohio State 27
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 6.5-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
56
AP score
Highlight · 2021 Michigan vs. Ohio State (Regular Season Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 4Neutral
No. 16 Arkansas 20, No. 7 Texas A&M 10
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 38/50 · Rank gap 18/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 4-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
56
AP score
- Major upsetWeek 9Home
Unranked Mississippi State 31, No. 12 Kentucky 17
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 28/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 1-point favorite · Pregame win chance —
56
AP score
- Major upsetRadiance Technologies Independence BowlNeutral
Unranked UAB 31, No. 12 BYU 28
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 28/50 · Rank gap 28/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 6-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
56
AP score
- Major upsetCFP National Championship pres. by AT&TNeutral
No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 50/50 · Rank gap 4/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 2.5-point favorite · Pregame win chance —
54
AP score
Highlight · 2021 Alabama vs. Georgia (National Championship Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 3Road
Unranked Fresno State 40, No. 13 UCLA 37
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 26/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 11-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
Highlight · 2021 UCLA vs. Fresno State (Regular Season Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 12Home
Unranked Clemson 48, No. 13 Wake Forest 27
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 26/50 · Rank gap 26/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 3.5-point favorite · Pregame win chance —
52
AP score
- Major upsetCFP Semifinal at the Capital One Orange BowlNeutral
No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 48/50 · Rank gap 2/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 7.5-point favorite · Pregame win chance —
50
AP score
Full Game · 2021 Michigan vs. Georgia (CFP Semifinal Full Game)
- Major upsetWeek 14Neutral
No. 9 Baylor 21, No. 5 Oklahoma State 16
View game details →AP evidence · primary
Opponent strength 42/50 · Rank gap 8/50
Market evidence · supporting
Winner closed as a 7-point underdog · Pregame win chance —
50
AP score
Highlight · 2021 Oklahoma State vs. Baylor (Regular Season 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.