The 20 biggest college football season-opening upsets of all time

Technically, this was the first full weekend of college football during the 1928 season. Back then, much like today, Michigan was a perennial power and one year earlier rolled over Ohio Wesleyan 33-0 to open the season. However, in '28, tensions were running hot between Wolverines coach Tad Wieman and legendary athletic director and former coach Fielding Yost. Michigan lost its first four games of the season, beginning with this unthinkable 10-point setback at Michigan Stadium.

Nebraska began the 1972 season ranked No. 1 in the country, riding a 32-game winning streak and an 18-point favorite for this season opener at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. However, the Bruins were led by a plucky quarterback named Mark Harmon, who ran the wishbone to near perfection on that day. UCLA  never trailed, forced five Nebraska turnovers, but still had to close the deal. Efrén Herrera kicked a tiebreaking 29-yard goal with less than a minute to play for one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

Still might be the greatest victory in Northwestern football history. For decades, the Wildcats were football afterthoughts and won more than three games once from 1980-'94. But in '95, under fourth-year coach Gary Barnett, Northwestern did the unthinkable. Winning 10 games, it's the first Big Ten title since 1936, and grabbing a Rose Bowl date. And, it all began with this improbable victory at South Bend. Entering as 28-point underdogs against the No. 2 Irish, the Wildcats never trailed, sacked Notre Dame's Ron Powlus four times and recovered two fumbles. 

Alabama opened the 2000 season ranked third in the country, but ended up with a discouraging 3-8 finish. And, this season-opening loss essentially set the stage for the Crimson Tide's season of futility. The Bruins totaled 396 yards, including 187 on the ground from DeShaun Foster, who also scored three times, and scored the final 14 points of the fourth quarter for the home upset. 

Opening the season 2001 season just outside the top 10 in The Associated Press Top 25, but kicking off the campaign at Fresno State was not expected to be easy. And, it certainly wasn't. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-0 lead, never trailed and when the Beavers got within seven early they fourth, they regrouped to score the final points of the contest. Fresno's Rodney Wright caught seven passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns, all from David Carr, who threw for 340 yards and four TDs.

NIU is no stranger to pulling off a power conference upset (just ask Notre Dame in 2024). However, one of the biggest in school history came to open the 2003 campaign. The Terrapins arrived in DeKalb as the 15th-ranked team in the country and jumped out to a 7-0 lead. But this would be a dogfight that went to overtime after the Huskies' Steve Azar kicked a tying 25-yard field goal late in regulation. NIU went ahead in overtime on Dan Sheldon's 20-yard touchdown catch, then made a memorable defensive stand to begin the celebration amid a packed house.

The crowning jewel in Appalachian State program history came when it  stunned then-No. 5 Michigan to open the 2007 season. Under the direction of legendary coach Jerry Moore, the Mountaineers became the first FCS school to beat a ranked FBS opponent. App State did so by going toe-to-toe with the mighty Wolverines, taking every blow and answering when it mattered most. Julian Rauch connected on a 26-yard, go-ahead field goal with 26 seconds remaining in overtime. Then, Corey Lynch memorably blocked Jason Gingell's 37-yard attempt to preserve perhaps the biggest upset in college football history.

Ole Miss wasn't ranked for this 2010 opener, but was still expected to beat Jacksonville State of the FCS. And it certainly looked as if that would be the case after the host jumped out to a 14-0 lead and owned a 31-13 advantage after three quarters. But, the Gamecocks scored 21 points in the fourth, highlighted by Marques Ivory's 19-yard touchdown pass to Alvin Bonner, and a successful 2-point try, with 18 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. In the second extra session, Jacksonville State opted to go for 2 after countering Ole Miss' score, and Calvin Middleton caught a short pass through goal-line traffic for the unthinkable winner.

Texas State was a 34 1/2-point underdog when it visited Houston to kick off the 2012 campaign. But, the visitors seemed poised to pull off the upset. The game was tight for a quarter, then the Bobcats scored 13 points in the second to lead 27-10 at halftime and never looked back. Texas State's Marcus Curry ran for 131 yards and two touchdowns.

The greatest program in the history of the FCS, North Dakota State, was no stranger to beating FBS opponents on a regular basis. But this one was pretty special, mainly because it's never easy to win at Bill Snyder Stadium. In front of the second-largest crowd in the history of the stadium at the time, NDSU rallied from a 21-7 third-quarter hole to score 17 unanswered points for the upset.

North Dakota State was not the only FCS squad to pull off an upset in Week 1 of the 2013. Eastern Washington went into Corvallis and walked out with a wild three-point victory. EWU quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. went 23-of-30 for 411 yards with four touchdowns passes and also ran for 107 with two scores. Including the go-ahead scamper from 2 yards out with 18 seconds remaining in regulation. In addition, a couple of soon-to-be NFL stars Cooper Kupp (five receptions, 119 yards, two TDs) and Oregon State's Brandin Cooks (13 catches for 196 yards, two TDs) each enjoyed big games.

A four-touchdown dog, South Alabama overcame a 17-0 halftime deficit by dominating the second half. With 53 seconds left in regulation, the Jaguars took the lead when Dallas Davis hit Gerald Everett with a four-yard touchdown pass. However, Mississippi State had one last chance to win, but Westin Graves' 28-yard field goal attempt hit the upright and away to give South Alabama the improbable triumph.

With iconic Lambeau Field as the backdrop, Wisconsin stunned fifth-ranked LSU in one of the most memorable games of the 2016 campaign. A stout Badgers defense, which held the Tigers to 257 yards and three field goals from Rafael Gaglianone, proved just enough to take down the imposing opponent. The victory set the tempo for Wisconsin, which went 11-3 and reached the Big Ten Championship Game.

We noted how Maryland was victimized by Northern Illinois to open the 2003 season, but the Terps pulled off their own impressive opening-weekend upset nearly 15 years later. Maryland and Texas combined for 955 total yards, but the visitors sacked Longhorns quarterback Shane Buechele five times, which forced two turnovers.

OK, Baylor went 1-11 in 2017, but this game was perhaps an omen for the Bears. Meanwhile, it was a program-defining win for Liberty, a 33-point underdog that became an FBS member the next season. The Flames' Stephen Calvert  threw for 447 yards with three touchdowns in the highly entertaining, back-and-forth contest that featured 1,117 total yards and plenty of scoring.

While that Liberty victory was big, nothing may ever top Howard's remarkable upset at UNLV on the same day. In what has gone down as the largest point-spread spread upset in modern college football history, the Bison threw their 45-point road underdog status out the window and hit the jackpot in Vegas. Howard's Caylin Newton, younger brother of  former  Carolina Panthers  star Cam Newton, amassed 330 total yards and three touchdowns, 

As this game went on, and Georgia State kept up with Tennessee on opening day at Neyland Stadium, there was a sense that an upset was going to happen. Lo and behold, the Panthers erased a 23-21 hole early in the fourth quarter by scoring 17 straight points to record their first victory over a power conference opponent. 

As it turned out, this was the beginning of Washington's nightmare 4-8 debacle of 2021. FCS-power Montana picked off Huskies quarterback Dylan Morris three times. However, the Grizzlies trailed 7-3 entering the fourth before Cam Humphrey trotted into the end zone from 4 yards out and Kevin Macias made a 22-yard field goal to preserve the upset.

The final game of the official opening weekend of 2023, and the Blue Devils were more than ready to welcome the top-10 Tigers for an ACC clash to kick things off. From the get-go, it seemed Duke was the better team, stymying Clemson's offense and eventually allowing just a short touchdown pass from Cade Klubnik to Will Shipley. Klubnik threw for just 209 yards, while the Blue Devils scored three rushing touchdowns.

Another case where an upset loss set the tone for a disastrous season. Florida State was coming off that resurgent 13-1 campaign, but with a bad taste in its mouth from being shunned by the College Football Playoff rankings. Opening the 2024 season in Dublin, FSU failed to hold two early leads and totaled just 291 yards. In the end, Georgia Tech's Aidan Birr was the hero, connecting on a 44-yard field goal as time ran out. The Seminoles finished 2-10 in 2024.