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| Saturday, October 14 Top Upsets By Howie Schwab ESPN.com | |||||
| Upsets are a part of college football lore. This season is no exception, with more than a dozen teams coming in as two-touchdown underdogs or more and coming away with the shocker.
In a season filled with so many surprises, picking the 10 biggest upsets isn't an easy feat. This list is not based on pointspreads, or the UNLV 35-32 win at Wyoming (the Rebels were around a 24-point underdog) would have made the top 10.
This deals with impact upsets. Dig in.
1. New Mexico State over Arizona State, 35-7 North Texas had been outscored 78-3 in losing its first two games before storming Lubbock. The 31-point underdog came through. There were calls for Spike Dykes' head after that contest. 3. Alabama over Florida, 40-39 (OT) Many believed the Gators would contend for a national title after their win over Tennessee. Steve Spurrier's team still has a shot, though this loss hurt. It also snapped Florida's 30-game home win streak. 4. Cincinnati over Wisconsin, 17-12 Somebody forgot to tell the Badgers to avoid looking ahead to Michigan. Wisconsin got caught, including a Ron Dayne fumble on the goal-line in a crucial situation. 5. Texas Tech over Texas A&M, 21-19 After losing to North Texas, how many people honestly expected the Red Raiders to topple the Aggies? Ricky Williams was hurt, and A&M was favored by more than two touchdowns. Then again, the prior five series meetings before this shocker were each decided by seven points or less. 6. San Jose State over Stanford, 44-39 The Cardinal came into the contest with a three-game winning streak, averaging almost 50 points per game in beating Washington State, Arizona and UCLA. San Jose State had lost 63-35 to Colorado earlier. The Spartans were a 19-point underdog. 7. Temple over Boston College, 24-14 The Owls entered without a win (0-5) while the Eagles (4-0) were unbeaten. Talk about role reversal. 8. Duke over Virginia, 24-17 (2 OT) The Blue Devils entered 0-4 and they were a 17-point underdog. This was in Charlottesville, too. 9. Stanford over Arizona, 50-22 This makes the list for a few reasons. At the time, Stanford was 1-1 with the loss coming at Texas, 69-17. Who would have thought the former Desert Swarm would give up 50 points? 10. Vanderbilt over Mississippi, 37-34 (OT) The Commodores won an exciting, SEC road game. No misprint ... a Vanderbilt league win on the road is a major surprise! There were many other games considered, everything from Miami-East Carolina to Kent-Bowling Green, from Hawaii over SMU to New Mexico over San Diego State. There is still time for more upsets to add to a postseason list!
| ALSO SEE
Chalk Talk: Who will be No. 1?Midseason Report: Top 10 games Midseason Report: Top Moments Midseason Report: Games to watch Midseason Report: Surprising Teams Midseason Report: Surprising Players Midseason Report: Disappointing Teams Midseason Report: Disappointing Players Midseason Report: Conference highs and lows Midseason Report: Herbstreit's fabulous freshmen Video Plays of the Season | ||||
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