Top 5 college upsets in football of all time

#33
#33
BigOrangeTrain said:
Under any criteria VT beating OSU in 2014 should be considered a monumental upset. Especially how the rest of the season played out.
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VT wasn't exactly terrible that season, though they certainly weren't great. They had hideous injury luck as the season wore on.
 
#34
#34
salutethehill said:
There it is. For some perspective:

In 2007, Michigan finished 9-4 and ranked in the top 20.
App St. finished the season 13-2 and won their 3rd consecutive NCAA Div I-AA National Championship.

In 1996, Tennessee finished the season at 10-2 and ranked #9 in both polls.
Memphis finished 4-7, in a crappy conference, against a crappy schedule.

I think Memphis is the bigger upset.
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Just to drive home what a glaring omission the '96 Tenn @ Memphis game is from this list. These are the results of the last 6 games of the '96 Memphis season:

Houston (L 37-20) They finished 7-5.
So Miss (L 16-0) They finished 8-3.
LA Lafayette (L 13-9) They finished 5-6.
Louisville (L 13-10) They finished 5-6.
Tennessee (W 21-17) We finished 10-2.
East Carolina (L 20-10) They finished 8-3.

It's also worth noting that Tennessee would win 29 of their next 31 games including 2 SEC Championships and a National Championship following that loss. Tennessee was 45-5 from '95-'98 with 3 losses to Florida, 1 to Nebraska and incredibly the '96 Memphis game.
 
#35
#35
508mikey said:
This one was pretty big and a favorite of mine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrAw0wHW7OQ 2008 Ole Miss 31 UF 30 Tebow stuffed on 4th down to seal the upset
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Our season completely went into the tank after that '08 Ole Miss game. :)

Georgia Southern '13 deserves honorable mention, as does UCF beating Alabama in 2000.

Oklahoma-Boise State has no business being in the Top 5.
 
#38
#38
bamawriter said:
That Bama team went 3-8 and also lost to Southern Miss. UCF went 7-4. I'm not even sure that qualifies as an upset.
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It qualifies.

Under no circumstances should Alabama ever lose to UCF in football in Tuscaloosa....ditto for UF and Georgia Southern in Gainesville.
 
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#39
#39
Lawrence Wright said:
It qualifies.

Under no circumstances should Alabama ever lose to UCF in football in Tuscaloosa....ditto for UF and Georgia Southern in Gainesville.
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Yeah but you also lost to Vanderbilt in Gainesville and that shouldn't happen either.

It was an upset only because it was an FCS (soon to be FBS) team beating an FBS team, but that UF team was terrible, especially by then.
 
#40
#40
Lawrence Wright said:
It qualifies.

Under no circumstances should Alabama ever lose to UCF in football in Tuscaloosa....ditto for UF and Georgia Southern in Gainesville.
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I agree, but we're talking greatest upsets ever. While the names involved certainly indicate upsets, we're still talking about the worst Florida team since '79 and the worst Bama team since '57.

La Tech over Bama the year before was a way bigger upset.
 
#41
#41
VolsSportsFan said:
Yeah but you also lost to Vanderbilt in Gainesville and that shouldn't happen either.

It was an upset only because it was an FCS (soon to be FBS) team beating an FBS team, but that UF team was terrible, especially by then.
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I agree UF should never lose to Vandy, but an underdog SEC team beating a favored SEC team on the road happens every year.

I think UCF was only a few years removed from being an FCS team when they won in Tuscaloosa.
 
#42
#42
Lawrence Wright said:
Our season completely went into the tank after that '08 Ole Miss game. :)

Georgia Southern '13 deserves honorable mention, as does UCF beating Alabama in 2000.

Oklahoma-Boise State has no business being in the Top 5.
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Alabama was terrible in 2000...finished 3-8, and also lost to Southern Miss.

Florida finished 4-8 in 2013, was absolutely decimated by injuries, and was on the tail end of a pretty bad losing streak.

Upsets? Sure. Top 5? No way.
 
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#43
#43
Lawrence Wright said:
I agree UF should never lose to Vandy, but an underdog SEC team beating a favored SEC team on the road happens every year.

I think UCF was only a few years removed from being an FCS team when they won in Tuscaloosa.
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Yep. UCF's first season in FBS was 1996.

I think by default, if you lose to a very bad team in your conference it certainly is a massive upset, but a loss to a similarly talented out-of-conference, non-Power 5 team trumps it. UCF was an independent when they beat Alabama in 2000 - basically no conference wanted them at that point.
 
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#44
#44
VolsSportsFan said:
Yeah but you also lost to Vanderbilt in Gainesville and that shouldn't happen either.

It was an upset only because it was an FCS (soon to be FBS) team beating an FBS team, but that UF team was terrible, especially by then.
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salutethehill said:
Alabama was terrible in 2000...finished 3-8, and also lost to Southern Miss.

Florida finished 4-8 in 2013, was absolutely decimated by injuries, and was on the tail end of a pretty bad losing streak.

Upsets? Sure. Top 5? No way.
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posted this on the first page. I would agree with it not being in the top 5, but it deserves an honorable mention at least, especially given the bold.

also, GA Southern was actually on par with Florida in the decimated by injuries dept, not to mention having a pretty mediocre season (compared to their standards) as well.

WarDamnVols said:
yeah, i probably wouldn't put it in the top 5, but it was pretty awesome.

the main thing that really gives it a solid possible argument for being in the conversation is the fact that they won without a single pass completion/yard.
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#45
#45
salutethehill said:
Alabama was terrible in 2000...finished 3-8, and also lost to Southern Miss.

Florida finished 4-8 in 2013, was absolutely decimated by injuries, and was on the tail end of a pretty bad losing streak.

Upsets? Sure. Top 5? No way.
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I missed where I said either of those were Top 5 upsets...pretty sure I said they both deserved honorable mention.
 
#47
#47
bamawriter said:
So honorable mention outside the Top 5 would put them where? Top 10? Top 20?
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Wherever outside the Top 5 you'd like for them to be.

Rank the Louisiana Tech loss higher if you like.

The worst Bama team since '57 and the worst UF team since '79 shouldn't lose at home to teams at best cutting their teeth in FBS or at worst still in FCS...ever.
 
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#49
#49
salutethehill said:
Those aren't even top 20. They're on par with the SC/Citadel upset last year. Upsets? Sure...but who cares?
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This.

I mean yeah they are upsets, but I look at GS/UF in 2013 and Citadle/SC last year and think "Am I really that surprised?" Most people's reactions were "Oh wow" and a week later forgot about it. It's not like either were big stories at the end of those seasons.

I didn't even remember Citadel/SC until you mentioned it. I certainly didn't remember UCF/Alabama from 2000.
 
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