Quarterback Caylin Newton #3 of the Howard Bison runs against defense lineman Mark Finau #19 of the UNLV Rebels David J. Becker/Getty Images

Biggest College Football Upsets Since 2014

Morgan Moriarty

Folks, this is March. As the 2024 NCAA Men's Tournament gets underway, why not look back at some unforgettable college football upsets? Everybody loves an underdog, and especially when that underdog pulls off a seemingly improbable victory.

College football has delivered some serious upsets in the last 10 seasons, and we're here to run through some of the biggest.

Since 2014 to just this past season, we've seen some major college football upsets. From UConn upsetting UCF in 2014, to Sacramento State beating Stanford just this past season, let's relive some of the greatest college football upsets from the last 10 seasons.

Author's Note: Including each and every upset from the last 10 seasons would have made this way too long, so we handpicked some of the biggest ones.

2014: Arizona over Oregon, North Dakota State over Iowa State, Florida over Georgia

Quarterback Carson Wentz #11 of the North Dakota State Bison David K Purdy/Getty Images

Aug. 30, 2014: North Dakota State 34, Iowa State 14

By this point in time, NDSU was making a habit of upsetting FBS teams. The Bison, who entered the 2014 season with a new head coach in current Kansas State head coach Chris Kleimann and 12 new starters had no problems upsetting the Cyclones at home. NDSU's quarterback, Carson Wentz, threw for 203 yards in the victory. The home loss was a sign of a rough season to come in Ames, as Iowa State went 2-10.

Oct. 2, 2014: Arizona 31, No. 2 Oregon 24

Despite entering this matchup undefeated, Arizona faced Oregon as 24-point underdogs to the then-No. 2 ranked Ducks. Although Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks erased a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie it up at 24-all, an Arizona touchdown with 2:54 left put the Wildcats back on top. On Oregon's ensuing possession, Mariota was strip-sacked by Scooby Wright III, giving Arizona the upset win. Luckily, the Ducks were still able to make the College Football Playoff that year in the postseason's first year.

Nov. 1. 2014: Florida 38, Georgia 20

Florida entered this one having lost the last three straight against rival Georgia, and it was a major knock on then-head coach Will Muschamp's career. Georgia, meanwhile, was ranked 11th by the College Football Playoff, and had a shot at a bid, entering with just one loss.

But Florida dominated, rushing for 418 yards and winning 38-20. The Gators even did so while completing just threw passes for 27 yards. They even used a former walk-on kicker, Mike McNeely, who also moonlit as a grocery bag boy, for a touchdown on a fake field goal.

2015: Portland State over Wazzu, Georgia Tech over FSU, The Citadel over SC

Fans of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets cover the field at Bobby Dodd Stadium after defeating the Florida State Seminoles Scott Cunningham

Sept. 5, 2015: Portland State 24, Washington State 17

FCS Portland State handed Washington State a huge upset in Week 1 of the 2015 season. Despite being down 10-0 at halftime, the Vikings scored 24 points in the second half. After Portland State took a 24-17 lead with 2:19 left, Wazzu looked like it could tie things up.

The Cougars crossed Portland State's 45 yardline, but Wazzu quarterback Peyton Bender threw an interception to seal the win. It was Wazzu's first loss to an FCS in 20 outings, and Portland State picked up a $525,000 check with the victory.

Oct. 24, 2015: Georgia Tech 22, Florida State 16

I was lucky enough to witness this one in person, from the press box. Florida State entered this game undefeated, and the No. 9 team in the country. GT, meanwhile, was just 2-5. The Yellow Jackets trailed 16-10 at halftime, but tied things up with a 40-yard field goal with 54 seconds left in the fourth.

FSU had a chance to kick a game-winning 56-yard field goal on its ensuing possession. But Roberto Aguayo, considered at the time to be college football's best kicker, had the kick blocked. Miraculously, GT's Lance Austin picked up the ball and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown to seal a monstrous upset.

Nov. 21, 2015: The Citadel 23, South Carolina 22

This was a down year for South Carolina. The Gamecocks finished below-.500 for the first time since 2003, and head coach Steve Spurrier retired midseason. But the loss was shocking nonetheless—it marked the first win for The Citadel over an FBS in 28 tries, and was the first FCS-over-SEC victory since 2010. The Citadel's touchdown scored with 6:07 left held until the end to seal the upset.

2016: Central Michigan over Oklahoma State, South Alabama over Mississippi State

The Richmond Spiders bench cheers after a turnover against the Virginia Cavaliers Chet Strange/Getty Images

Sept. 3, 2016:

South Alabama 21, Mississippi State 20

South Alabama took down an SEC team for the first time in school history with this one. Mississippi State had a chance to win it on a 28-yard field goal, but the attempt doinked off the upright instead to seal the upset for South Alabama. Mississippi State and South Alabama both finished 6-7 on the season.

Sept. 3, 2016: Eastern Washington 46, Washington State 45

This marked Washington State's second straight loss to an FCS team in two seasons. The Wazzu defense was no match for this Eagles' offense, which put up 606 total yards of offense. EWU's leading receiver in the victory? Now Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp, who had 206 yards receiving with three touchdowns. The loss also put then-Wazzu head coach Mike Leach at 0-5 in season openers in Pullman.

Richmond 37, Virginia 20:

This was supposed to be a fun day for first-year Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who was making his debut as the Cavaliers' head coach. Instead, FCS Richmond—which sits just 66 miles east of UVA's campus—dominated the Hoos 37-20. The Spiders put up 524 total yards of offense, whereas UVA was held to just 38 on the ground. The win marked Richmond's first over Virginia since 1946.

Sept. 10, 2016: Central Michigan 30, Oklahoma State 27

This game finished with a good bit of controversy. Although the Chippewas scored the game-winning touchdown on a Hail Mary and lateral, Oklahoma State thought it ended the game on its last possession.

With four seconds left on 4th down, OK-State quarterback Mason Rudolph threw the ball away. Instead of the play ending the game, the refs flagged Rudolph for intentional grounding. The refs initially ruled the game couldn't end on a live-ball penalty, which gave the Chippewas the ball back for one more play.

The ref later told reporters that there can be exceptions to ending the game on a penalty. Via the Associated Press:

"There's an exception to the rule that says if enforcement of the foul involves a loss of down, then that brings the game to an end," O'Dey told a pool reporter. O'Dey said after conferring with NCAA rules committee secretary Rogers Redding after the game, the crew determined the "extension should not have happened." But the final result stood. Article 3b of the NCAA rulebook states: When the referee declares that the game is ended, the score is final. "Despite the error, this will not change the outcome of the contest," Bill Carollo, the NCAA's coordinator of football officials, said in a statement released by the MAC.

2017: Troy over LSU, Howard over UNLV, Maryland over Texas, Liberty over Baylor

Sept. 2, 2017:

We had several stunners in Week 1 this season.

Howard 43, UNLV 42

Howard pulled off the largest point-spread upset in college football history in this one. The Bison went on the road to face UNLV and entered as 45-point underdogs. Although Howard trailed 33-21 midway through the third, the Bison stormed back to win 43-30, scoring 21 points in the game's last two quarters. Ironically, Howard's offense was led by Caylin Newton at quarterback, the younger brother of Cam Newton. Newton finished with 330 yards of offense, three touchdowns and an interception.

Maryland 51, Texas 41

Maryland went on the road and spoiled then-Texas head coach Tom Herman's Longhorn debut. Maryland snapped a 17-game losing streak to ranked opponents with the win over Texas, which was ranked 23rd. The Terps led 31-14 at halftime, and kept Texas' offense at-bay for the remainder of the second half.

Liberty 48, Baylor 45

At the start of Liberty's transition into the FBS, the Flames made noise with an upset road victory over Baylor in Week 1. The Bears kept this one close though, making it 48-45 with five minutes left. Despite getting the ball back with 30 seconds left, Baylor quarterback Stephen Calvert's pass was intercepted with six seconds left to seal the upset victory. The loss marked Baylor's first to a lower-conference team since 1981, to Division I-AA opponent Lamar.

Sept. 20, 2017: Troy 24, LSU 21

Troy led 17-7 entering the fourth quarter, and the Tigers at least tried to make things interesting at the end. Following a Troy touchdown with 8:14 left in the game, LSU scored two straight touchdowns, one off of a Troy fumble. But still trailing three, the Tigers got the ball back with 11 seconds. LSU quarterback Danny Etling's pass was picked off, sealing the upset victory. Troy's win marked the first in Death Valley for a non-SEC opponent since UAB in 2000.

2018: Villanova over Temple, Eastern Michigan over Purdue, Old Dominion over VT

Sept. 1, 2018: Villanova 19, Temple 17

Villanova quarterback Zach Bednarczyk had himself a day in this one, throwing for 254 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Temple led 17-13 heading into the fourth. Although Villanova scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:17 left, the Owls had multiple opportunities to respond. In fact, Temple's last three possessions resulted in a missed field goal and back-to-back interceptions. The win gave Nova its first win over Temple since 2009.

Sept. 8. 2018: Eastern Michigan 20, Purdue 19

The Boilermakers dropped to 0-2 on the season with this loss. Although Purdue scored a go-ahead touchdown with 6:41 left, Eastern Michigan kicker Chad Ryland connected on a 24-yard game-winning field goal to seal the upset. The win marked Eastern Michigan's second-straight win over a Big Ten program, defeating Rutgers 16-13 the year before.

Sept. 23, 2018: Old Dominion 49, Virginia Tech 35

This game was a shocker. Virginia Tech entered the season with one loss, but ranked 13th in the nation. Old Dominion, meanwhile, was 0-3. But the Monarchs welcomed the Hokies to their home stadium, and pulled off an upset while playing with a backup quarterback. Old Dominion, a 28.5-point underdog, scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to seal the biggest win in ODU school history, 49-35. The season before, ODU fell 38-0 in Blacksburg. Signal-caller Blake LaRussa, who came off the bench for the Monarchs, finished with 495 yards passing and four touchdowns in the victory.

2019: FIU over Miami, App State over UNC, The Citadel over Georgia Tech

Sept. 14, 2019: The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24

This game was close throughout, and despite Georgia Tech's resilience, The Citadel never trailed in this game. In overtime, Yellow Jackets kicker Brenton King missed a 46-yard attempt wide left. All The Citadel needed was a field goal to win, and Jacob Godek did just that, nailing a 37-yarder to win it. The win marked the first victory over an FBS opponent for the Citadel since beating South Carolina in 2015. Ironically, head coach Brent Thompson was on-staff as the team's offensive coordinator for that upset.

Sept. 21, 2019: App State 34, UNC 31

App State went into Chapel Hill and made beating a powerhouse program look pretty easy. For the first time since upsetting Michigan in 2007, the Mountaineers got a win over an FBS program in UNC. The Tar Heels had a chance to tie the game with a field goal, but App State blocked it, sealing the road win.

Nov. 23, 2019: FIU 30, Miami 19

Florida International is a crosstown rival of Miami, and a program that largely stood in the shadows of the Hurricanes' success for most of its existence. But the Panthers pulled off an incredible little brother type upset of Miami in 2019, holding off a late rally by the Canes in the fourth quarter.

With a roster comprised of mostly players from the Miami area that weren't recruited by the Canes, the upset was huge for FIU.

"That used to be our dream school," FIU kicker Jose Borregales said after the victory. "Everybody knew Miami. Beating them today, it's like, yeah, we're here."

Miami, which entered as a 14-point favorite, made some unfortunate history that season with the loss:

Miami finished 6-7 on the season.

2020: Louisiana-Monroe over Iowa State, Indiana over Penn State

Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Indiana Hoosiers scores the game-tying touchdown on a one-yard run Joe Robbins/Getty Images

2020 was a weird college football season. It was in the middle of COVID-19, and most teams only played conference schedules that year. Still, there were a couple upsets of note.

Sept. 12, 2020: Louisiana-Monroe 31, Iowa State 14

Iowa State opened the 2020 college football season ranked 23rd in the country. But Louisiana-Monroe went on the road and beat a Top 25 away from home for the first time in program history. Cyclone offensive stars Brock Purdy and Breece Hall finished with 145 yards passing and 103 yards rushing, respectively.

Oct. 24, 2020: Indiana 36, Penn State 35

The Nittany Lions looked on-track to be a contender in the Big Ten this season, entering a road contest vs. Indiana ranked eighth in the country. With 22 seconds left, then-Hoosier quarterback Michael Penix Jr. scored a 1-yard touchdown run capped off with a successful two-point conversion to tie the game up at 28-all and force overtime.

In overtime, Penn State struck first with a touchdown. Penix threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Whop Philyor. Instead of kicking the extra point to go to a second overtime, Indiana opted to go for two. Penix stretched the ball out, on the attempt hitting the pylon, and it was called good. But several angles of the replay had several folks questioning the call:

The call stood, and the Hoosiers pulled off an upset victory.

2021: Montana over Washington, Jacksonville State over FSU, Illinois over Penn State

Sept. 4, 2021 Montana 13, Washington 7

Montana defeated a ranked Washington team, and gave the FCS a victory over a ranked FBS for the first time since 2016. The Huskies scored on their first possession of the game, but the Grizzly defense helped secure the win the rest of the game. Washington had three turnovers, punted five times, turned the ball over on downs twice and missed a field goal to give Montana a shocking 13-7 win.

Sept. 10, 2021: Jacksonville State 20, FSU 17

Florida State had a 17-7 lead over Jacksonville State entering the fourth quarter. But the Noles' offense fell apart late, with its last three possessions resulting in an interception, a turnover on downs and a punt. Gamecocks quarterback Zerrick Cooper threw two touchdown passes—one being a 59-yard bomb on the last play of the game—to utterlly shock the Noles at home. It was the first loss to an FCS team in program history for Florida State.

Oct. 23, 2021: Illinois 20, Penn State 18

Penn State entered its Homecoming game against Illinois ranked eighth in the country, and as a 23.5-point favorite. Although this game was a defensive struggle, tied at 10-all to end regulation, things got especially wild, as this game extended into nine overtimes.

After both offenses failed to score on their opening OT possessions, the units had to attempt two-point conversion plays, per the new NCAA rules. And these teams kept scoring! The game remained a 16-16 tie through the eighth overtime, when both offenses finally scored on back-to-back rushing two-point conversions.

Illinois scored the game-winning two points off of a two-yard pass caught by Casey Williams from Illini backup quarterback Brandon Peters. On Penn State's ensuing possession, Sean Clifford's pass attempt was broken up to give Illinois the upset victory.

2022: App State over Texas A&M, Marshall over Notre Dame, MTSU over Miami

Sept. 10, 2022: App State 17, Texas A&M 14

Appalachian State has been a thorn in the side of a lot of FBS teams. Against Texas A&M in Week 2, the Mountaineers pulled off their first-ever upset over a Top-10 ranked team. Winning 17-14, App State's offense outgained Jimbo Fisher's team 315-186, and had 82 offensive snaps compared to A&M's 38. The Aggies went on to finish 5-7, and miss a bowl for the first time since 2008.

Sept. 10, 2022: Marshall 26, Notre Dame 21

This one was a shocker for a few reasons. For starters, it gave new Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman an 0-3 start as head coach, the worst in school history. Marshall's win also snapped Notre Dame's 42-game win streak against unranked opponents when ranked. Lastly, ND fell to an unranked, non-Power FIve school as a Top-10 team for the first time since 1996, against Air Force.

Sept. 24, 2022: Middle Tennessee 45, Miami 31

This one felt pretty over from the start, despite Middle Tennessee entering as a 26-point underdog. Middle Tennessee led 17-3 at the end of the first quarter. The closest Miami got to tying things up was pulling within 14 at halftime and in the third quarter. But the Blue Raiders' offense was on fire, putting up 507 yards, whereas Miami's offense was held to just 60 yards on the ground. The Canes had three turnovers on the day—all in the first quarter, too. With the victory, Middle Tennessee got its first win over a Top-25 team since moving to the FBS In 1999.

2023: Colorado over TCU, Sacramento State over Stanford

Last season didn't give us as many big upsets, but we had a couple noteworthy ones.

Sept. 2, 2023: Colorado 45, TCU 42

This game single handedly kicked off the Deion Sanders hype train last season. Colorado entered as 20.5-point underdogs, finishing 1-11 in 2022. TCU, meanwhile, was just seven months removed from playing in the national title game.

The Buffs went into Fort Worth and upset the Horned Frogs 45-42, as Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders finished with 510 yards passing and four touchdowns. The college football world was also introduced to two-way star Travis Hunter, who added 11 receptions for 119 yards, too. Obviously Colorado's hot start didn't last, but this was a fun game to watch.

Sept. 16, 2023: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23

You can call this one the Sacramento State revenge game. Former Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor was coaching against his former Hornet team in this one. He was hired by Stanford after leading Sacramento State to a 30-8 record in four seasons, including an FCS semifinal berth during the 2022 season.

But the Hornets went into Stanford Stadium and lit up the Cardinal defense, out-gaining Stanford 448-to-337. Hornet quarterback Kaiden Bennett finished with 379 yards of total offense, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The win gave Stanford just its second loss in school history to an FCS school, falling to UC Davis in 2005.

   

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