Five Biggest Underdog Wins in College Football History

There’s nothing like a shocking underdog win in college football. High-ranked teams set to roll over lower-tier schools and get the shock of their life when they get beat. 

Here is a short list of the five biggest underdog wins in college football history. Check out the list of low-level schools and read how they defied the odds to beat assumed superior opponents.

Northern Illinois vs #12 Notre Dame

The inspiration for writing the five biggest underdog wins in college football history happened just this year. #12 Notre Dame were picked to walk over Northern Illinois with a huge 28.5 point spread.

The Northern Illinois Huskies walked into South Bend, Indiana and shocked the world. They stunned the Fighting Irish with a late field goal to win the game 16-14.

You could’ve used the best online sportsbook to rack in a huge payday by betting on Northern Illinois.

Illinois vs #11 Wisconsin 2019

In 2019, the 6-0 Wisconsin Badgers took on the 2-4 Fighting Illini. That year, the Badgers had hopes of going to the Big Ten Championship and were favored by 31 points. 

Illinois didn’t get the memo and decided to pull off one of the biggest underdog wins in college football history. In the final seconds of the game, the Fighting Illini hit a game winning field goal.

It was one of the biggest wins in school history and dashed the Badger’s title hopes.

Howard vs UNLV 2017

One of the biggest underdog wins in college football history that you might not know happened in 2017. The UNLV Runnin Rebels were picked to beat the Howard Bison by a staggering 45.5 points.

Nobody had a second thought about this game as Howard has never had a good football program.

However, instead of lying down, the Howard Bison decided to make some college sports history. They pulled off one of the biggest underdog wins ever with a last minute 43-40 win.

Placing a bet on Howard University against the spread would’ve earned a massive payday.

Houston vs Texas State

Historically, Texas State has been the little brother to the University of Houston. In 2012, CF experts figured the Cougars would embarrass TSU again and set the spread at 36.5 points.

That day, TSU decided to destroy many handicappers’ bets and pull off the biggest win in school history. They shocked U of H with a 30-13 win and ruined the conference championship hopes for the Cougars.

#7 BYU vs UTEP 1985

During the 1980s, BYU had a tough college football program. The #7 Cougars were set up to beat UTEP with a whopping 36 point spread.

At the time, UTEP was winless. Nobody had a second thought that BYU would lose this game.

College football fans witnessed one of the biggest underdog wins in college football history. The University of Texas-El Paso shocked the world to beat the BYU Cougars 23-16. 

This UTEP win is still considered the biggest their program’s history.