Reliving the 20 Biggest Upsets of the 2013 College Football Season
The 2013 college football season is about to hit its final stretch, with the postseason bowl lineup just over the horizon. Sixteen days and 35 games later, we'll have the final BCS-determined national champion when Auburn and Florida State meet in Pasadena, Calif., for the big crystal football.
The journey to this point has provided us with many a great game, including some truly epic results, ones that either turned the BCS on its side or really just put a sad spin on the losing team's season.
Now that all the regular-season games are in the books and all that's left are these final matchups, we take a look back at the 20 biggest upsets that got us to where we are now.
Week 1: North Dakota State 24, Kansas State 21
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Kansas State played in the Fiesta Bowl following the 2012 season, and though it lost several key pieces from that 11-2 team, it was still expected to contend for another Big 12 championship.
But visiting North Dakota State (and its back-to-back FCS titles) had other ideas, deciding it wasn't OK with just being a sacrificial lamb paid a hefty sum to get pounded by an FBS host.
Most impressive was how the Bison won the game, rallying from a 21-7 deficit in the third quarter. NDSU scored the game-winning touchdown with 28 seconds left when senior Brock Jensen ran it in from a yard out.
The victory marked the fourth straight year NDSU has beaten an FBS program, while K-State lost its season opener for the first time since 2007.
Week 1: Northern Illinois 30, Iowa 27
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It was the second year in a row these Midwest schools had met to open the season, but this time the little guys came out on top.
Northern Illinois scored twice in the final five minutes, four seconds of play, including a 36-yard field goal from Matthew Sims with four seconds left, to pull off the shocking road win over a Big Ten opponent. Iowa had beaten the Huskies 18-16 at Soldier Field in Chicago the previous season, after which NIU won 12 straight games to earn a BCS bid to face (and lose to) Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
It was Iowa's first home-opener loss since 2000 and had Hawkeyes fans thinking another losing season was in the making. Instead, Iowa went 8-4 and will face LSU in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1
Week 2: Washington State 10, USC 7
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USC's Lane Kiffin was the first high-profile coach to lose his job, getting fired after a 3-2 start that was capped by a 62-41 loss at Arizona State in late September.
But Kiffin's seat really started to get hot after this shocking home loss to a Washington State team that had gone 3-9 the year before and was by no means known for its defense. But there were the Cougars, holding the Trojans to 193 yards of total offense and winning despite not scoring an offensive touchdown.
The boos that rained down from the Los Angeles Coliseum bleachers was deafening after WSU's Andrew Furney kicked the game-winning 41-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. A week later, some 15,000 fewer people attended USC's 35-7 win over Boston College, which featured a dominant effort in holding eventual Heisman finalist Andre Williams to a season-low 38 rushing yards.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Week 3: Ole Miss 44, Texas 23
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The "when is Mack Brown going to get fired?" queries began the week before, when Texas was blown out at BYU. But that supposition became a real possibility after the Longhorns were run over at home by a team it had crushed by 35 on the road the year before.
Ole Miss' Jeff Scott ran for 164 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, gaining more yards than he'd have over the season's next 10 games (partly due to injury), while the Rebels scored the game's final 31 points.
The game was the first with Greg Robinson as Texas' defensive coordinator, as he was brought in after Brown fired Manny Diaz following the BYU loss. The change looked unhelpful at the time, but Texas ended up going on a six-game win streak after this game and went into its season finale at Baylor with a shot to win the Big 12 title.
Week 5: West Virginia 30, Oklahoma State 21
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At the time, this early-season Big 12 clash seemed more like a matter of a good team having a bad afternoon against a not-so-bad opponent.
But looking back on it, the Cowboys' sloppy, mistake-filled trip to Morgantown kept them out of the BCS.
Oklahoma State turned the ball over three times and committed nearly 100 yards' worth of penalties, while West Virginia played maybe its best game of the season. It was certainly the Mountaineers' best effort in a three-game stretch that featured a 37-0 loss at Maryland beforehand and a 73-42 pasting at Baylor the week after.
West Virginia ended the year 4-8, winning only once more after that afternoon, while OSU bounced back to win seven in a row (including handing Baylor its only loss of the season) before falling to Oklahoma in the season finale to lose out on the Big 12 title.
Week 6: South Florida 26, Cincinnati 20
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South Florida's hiring of Willie Taggart from Western Kentucky was looked at as a great get for a program that had been mostly good since joining the FBS in 2001, but which had regressed the previous two seasons under Skip Holtz.
But the Bulls started 0-4, with home losses to FCS McNeese State (by 32!) and Florida Atlantic thanks to one of the most anemic offenses ever seen.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati was sort of an unknown entity under new coach Tommy Tuberville, though the Bearcats were 3-1 and considered a contender for the American Athletic Conference crown. Then it committed four turnovers and allowed South Florida to score 26 points without an offensive touchdown (giving up a blocked punt for a score and having a fumble returned for a TD).
Cincinnati went on to finish 9-3 and still had a shot at a piece of the league title entering its final game, while South Florida went 2-10 and never surpassed 23 points in another game.
Week 7: Utah 27, Stanford 21
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Having already beaten Arizona State and Washington, the 2013 Stanford team was looking to be as formidable as the previous ones that had earned three straight BCS bids. Though not flashy, the Cardinal were methodical on offense and punishing on defense.
But all of that went out the door when 5-0 Stanford visited a Utah team that had blown chances to knock off Pac-12 foes Oregon State and UCLA in its previous two home games. The Utes didn't squander their chances this time, though, going on a 20-0 run midway through the contest and then putting together an epic goal-line stand to pull off arguably the biggest home upset in school history.
To say the teams went in opposite directions after this one would be an understatement. The Utes lost their next five games to miss out on a bowl for the second straight year, while Stanford went on to crush ASU in the Pac-12 title game to return to the Rose Bowl for the second year in a row.
Week 7: Penn State 43, Michigan 40 (4 OT)
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At 5-0, Michigan was still a bit of an enigma. The Wolverines had a win over Notre Dame but also far-closer-than-they-should-have-been victories over Akron and Connecticut, making the trip to Happy Valley one that would help define this team.
Four overtimes and several blown leads later, Michigan was no longer undefeated.
The Wolverines defense couldn't make a stop down the stretch, blowing a 10-point lead and allowing a game-tying touchdown in the final minute of regulation. Then, in the extra periods, kicker Brendan Gibbons made just two of four field goals, having one blocked, while the defense again couldn't get that big stop at the end when Penn State converted a 4th-and-1 in the fourth overtime and scored the winning TD four plays later.
Michigan wouldn't beat a team with a winning record the rest of the season, taking a 7-5 mark into the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl against Kansas State.
Week 8: Central Florida 38, Louisville 35
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This game was played on a Friday night for one reason: to showcase Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a national audience so as many people as possible could see the likely Heisman Trophy candidate show off his stuff.
Instead, it became Central Floriday's coming-out party.
UCF quarterback Blake Bortles nearly matched Bridgewater throw for throw, leading the Knights back from a 28-7 deficit to take a 31-28 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Then, after Louisville retook the lead with three minutes left, Bortles calmly led UCF down the field for the game-winning score, hitting Jeff Godfrey on a two-yard TD pass with 23 seconds left.
It was the only game Louisville would lose all season, but it kept the Cardinals from returning to the BCS. Instead, it's UCF, which had nearly upset South Carolina three weeks earlier, that is representing the American Athletic Conference in the Fiesta Bowl.
Week 8: Auburn 45, Texas A&M 41
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Before all the late-season heroics, before the tipped passes and improbable missed field goal returned for a monumental touchdown, before Auburn was known as anything more than a team coming off a 3-9 season, there was the win at Texas A&M.
The Tigers had already surpassed last year's win total and, at 5-1 were back in the national rankings. But not until they went into College Station and outran the Aggies (despite 454 passing yards and five total touchdowns from Johnny Manziel) did the nation know just how good this Gus Malzahn-led Auburn team could be.
Or how unflappable the Tigers were. Even after Manziel scored on a one-yard run with 5:05 left to retake the lead at 41-38, Auburn just marched—literally, as it ran on 10 of 13 plays—down the field and got a five-yard TD run from Tre Mason with 1:19 remaining.
Week 8: Tennessee 23, South Carolina 21
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There were many games during the course of 2013 that defined how topsy-turvy and chaotic the SEC's East Division was. But none were more emblematic of this than a mid-October game in Knoxville.
Tennessee had a 17-7 halftime lead, looking to score its first signature win under new coach Butch Jones. But South Carolina rallied to lead 21-17 entering the fourth quarter, only to see Tennessee slowly chip away at that advantage thanks to a pair of late field goals, including a 19-yarder as time expired.
The loss all but eliminated South Carolina from SEC title and BCS consideration, though the Gamecocks put themselves back in the hunt when they won at unbeaten Missouri a week later.
The victory was the high point in an otherwise disappointing season for the Volunteers, who finished 5-7.
Week 9: Duke 13, Virginia Tech 10
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With Duke already at six wins and heading to a bowl game in back-to-back years for the first time in school history, 2013 was locked up as a success for the Blue Devils regardless of what happened the rest of the way. But winning at Virginia Tech turned a good season into a great one for the Blue Devils.
The host Hokies were among the hottest teams in the country, riding a six-game win streak thanks to their usual stout defense. But despite holding Duke to under 200 yards and forcing four turnovers, Tech trailed 13-0 midway through the third quarter.
The Hokies got within a field goal, but four turnovers of their own prevented the comeback from being complete. Instead, Duke propelled itself onto the national scene, going on to win the ACC's Coastal Division before losing to Florida State in the conference title game.
Duke gets to play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, while Virginia Tech gets to go to El Paso.
Week 11: Pittsburgh 28, Notre Dame 21
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Without a conference to piggy-back into the BCS, Notre Dame needed as solid a resume as possible to get invited to one of the big bowls. Since being undefeated wasn't an option this year, like in 2012, the Fighting Irish had to hope winning 10 games (including one over Michigan State) would be enough.
But no one told Pittsburgh it was supposed to roll over. Instead, the previously inconsistent Panthers capitalized on numerous Notre Dame penalties and turnovers to pull off the upset and avenge the previous year's overtime loss in South Bend.
Notre Dame would go on to drop another game, falling at Stanford to end the regular season, making this setback less significant. But at the time, it looked to be the nail in the coffin for a program that had to settle for playing a 6-6 Rutgers team in the pre-New Year's Day Pinstripe Bowl to wrap up this year.
Week 13: Arizona 42, Oregon 16
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Two weeks removed from a crushing loss at Stanford, which more or less knocked them out of the national championship picture, Oregon players made headlines by talking down about ending up in a Rose Bowl they'd "already" played in.
Then the Ducks went to Tucson and played like a team that didn't want to represent the Pac-12 Conference in college football's most storied bowl game, suffering their worst loss in five years. As a result, Oregon is going to the Alamo Bowl in Texas, while Stanford is in the Rose yet again.
Losing to Arizona as badly as Oregon did was shocking not just because of the lackluster effort, but also because of the fact the Wildcats had lost at home (and looked equally as sluggish as Oregon that time out) to Washington State the week before. Arizona would then lose by 37 at rival Arizona State the following week.
Week 13: Georgia Southern 26, Florida 20
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What was already shaping up to be a lost season for Florida became a disastrous one after the Gators lost at home to an FCS opponent.
The SEC's tradition of scheduling a walkover nonconference opponent at home in November blew up in the Gators' faces, as the visiting Eagles—who are moving up to FBS in 2014—played the game like it was their Super Bowl.
Florida's worst season in 34 years included many lows, not just the loss to Georgia Southern. But this game did also provide us with the lasting image of two Gator offensive players blocking each other on a run play.
Week 14: San Jose State 62, Fresno State 52
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With a cannon-armed quarterback and a bevy of go-to receivers, Fresno State had the kind of offensive attack that was built to go undefeated and make a run at a BCS-buster slot. The Bulldogs lived up to that hype through their first 10 games, but then ran into a buzzsaw.
Or, rather, another cannon-armed quarterback with a bevy of go-to receivers.
When the dust settled, Fresno State had been outscored and knocked out of the running for a likely trip to the Fiesta Bowl.
The win was a pyrrhic one for San Jose State, which became bowl-eligible thanks to it but cost the Mountain West Conference a boatload of money by denying Fresno State a BCS bid. Even more ironic: By knocking Fresno out of the BCS, it meant the MWC had seven eligible teams but only six slots...and San Jose was the one left out of the bowl picture.
Week 14: Penn State 31, Wisconsin 24
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Wisconsin entered its regular-season finale with the distinction of being one of the best teams in the nation that wasn't going to get a chance to earn an automatic BCS bid, due to it being stuck behind Ohio State in the Big Ten's Leaders Division.
That meant the Badgers' only shot at getting into the BCS was to be as impressive as possible down the stretch, despite having two losses (including a referee-aided defeat to Arizona State).
But none of that mattered after Wisconsin laid an absolute egg at home to Penn State, trailing by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter. The Badgers had been nothing short of dominant during a six-game win streak entering that game, yet on this afternoon they lacked any of the effort that had them in the thick of at-large BCS consideration.
Week 15: Bowling Green 47, Northern Illinois 27
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Similar to how San Jose State's win over Fresno State harmed its conference as much as the opponent, Bowling Green's convincing victory over unbeaten Northern Illinois in the Mid-American Conference title game prevented the oft-overlooked league from sending a team to the BCS for the second straight year.
Instead, NIU and its fun-to-watch star, QB Jordan Lynch, are playing in San Diego in a lower-tier bowl game, while Bowling Green's reward for costing the MAC a BCS payday is another game in the same stadium in which it beat the Huskies (in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl against Pittsburgh), as well as the loss of coach Dave Clawson to Wake Forest.
Week 15: Oklahoma 33, Oklahoma State 24
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At 10-1 and a win away from a second trip to the Fiesta Bowl in three seasons, Oklahoma State's improbable September loss to West Virginia was a distant memory. All the Cowboys had to do was beat archrival Oklahoma, at home, on the final day of the regular season.
Easier said than done.
OSU reverted back to some of its early-season struggles, specifically in the passing game, which allowed an equally struggling Oklahoma team to stick around despite not scoring on offense until the fourth quarter. That's when the game suddenly became a shootout, with both teams marching down the field in the final minutes for go-ahead or, in Oklahoma's case, game-winning scores.
When it was all over, Oklahoma State was out of the BCS, while Oklahoma was in, matched up with Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Week 15: Michigan State 34, Ohio State 24
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No team felt more unappreciated—yet at the same time faced more pressure—in 2013 than Ohio State. The Buckeyes were unbeaten in 2012 but ineligible for the postseason, then rolled through the regular seaosn in 2013 with only a few tense moments (such as the one at the end of the Michigan game).
OSU appeared lined up to meet Florida State in the BCS National Championship Game, but still needed to get past a very good Michigan State team in the Big Ten title game. Add in Auburn's impressive performance in the SEC Championship Game, which renewed discussion of whether a one-loss SEC team deserved a BCS title spot over an undefeated Big Ten team, and Lucas Oil Stadium was a sea of nerves.
Michigan State added to the agita by taking a 17-0 lead on OSU, though the Buckeyes rallied to lead 24-17 late in the third quarter. But then the Spartans defense locked down, and the offense pushed OSU around to score the game's final 17 points and knock the Buckeyes out of the national-title picture.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
