September 30 in college football
Every September 30 in Iron's archive: the ranked teams that lost to unranked ones, the ranked matchups, and the games worth retelling. Every result links to its game card.
- 1,185games on file
- 23unranked wins over ranked teams
- 20ranked vs ranked meetings
- 1900–2023seasons covered
Unranked over ranked on September 30
The 23 such results, best rank beaten first; the top 14 are listed.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Mississippi State 47 | #3 Florida 35 | At home |
| 1972 | Oklahoma State 31 | #3 Colorado 6 | At home |
| 1972 | Auburn 10 | #4 Tennessee 6 | At home |
| 1995 | Wisconsin 17 | #6 Penn State 9 | On the road |
| 1989 | Duke 21 | #7 Clemson 17 | At home |
| 1961 | Georgia Tech 24 | #7 Rice 0 | At home |
| 2000 | Oregon State 31 | #8 USC 21 | At home |
| 1967 | Texas Tech 19 | #8 Texas 13 | On the road |
| 1961 | Michigan 29 | #9 UCLA 6 | At home |
| 1978 | Houston 27 | #10 Florida State 21 | On the road |
| 2000 | LSU 38 | #11 Tennessee 31 | At home · Tiger · Baton Rouge |
| 1972 | Wyoming 45 | #11 Arizona State 43 | At home |
| 2022 | UCLA Bruins 40 | #15 Washington Huskies 32 | At home · Rose Bowl · Pasadena, CA |
| 1989 | Oregon 16 | #17 Arizona 10 | At home |
Ranked vs ranked on September 30
20 meetings in all; the ten with the highest-ranked team are listed.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | #1 Ohio State Buckeyes 38 | #13 Iowa Hawkeyes 17 | On the road · Kinnick Stadium · Iowa City, IA |
| 1978 | #1 Oklahoma 45 | #14 Missouri 23 | At home |
| 1967 | #10 Purdue 28 | #1 Notre Dame 21 | At home |
| 2017 | #2 Clemson 31 | #12 Virginia Tech 17 | On the road · Lane/Worsham Field · Blacksburg, Va. |
| 2023 | #3 Texas Longhorns 40 | #24 Kansas Jayhawks 14 | At home · DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium · Austin, TX |
| 1995 | #4 Colorado 38 | #10 Oklahoma 17 | On the road |
| 1989 | #12 Tennessee 21 | #4 Auburn 14 | At home |
| 1989 | #5 Colorado 45 | #21 Washington 28 | On the road |
| 2000 | #20 Oregon 23 | #6 Washington 16 | At home · Autzen |
| 2016 | #10 Washington 44 | #7 Stanford 6 | At home · Husky Stadium · Seattle, Wash. |
One-score finishes between ranked teams
Decided by three points or fewer.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | #11 USC 18 | #19 Washington State 17 | 1 pt |
| 2000 | #9 Michigan 13 | #17 Wisconsin 10 | 3 pts |
Top-10 teams routed
The widest losses by a team ranked in the top ten.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | #10 Washington 44 | #7 Stanford 6 | 38 pts |
| 1972 | Oklahoma State 31 | #3 Colorado 6 | 25 pts |
| 1961 | Georgia Tech 24 | #7 Rice 0 | 24 pts |
| 1961 | Michigan 29 | #9 UCLA 6 | 23 pts |
| 1995 | #4 Colorado 38 | #10 Oklahoma 17 | 21 pts |
Biggest comebacks
Deficit the winner erased. Measured from in-game margins where play data exists, cross-checked against quarter scores; a row prints only when the quarter lines corroborate it, so this list starts in 2000.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Trailed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Baylor Bears 36 | UCF Knights 35 | 28 ptsin game |
| 2023 | North Carolina Central Eagles 49 | Campbell Fighting Camels 48 | 21 ptsin game |
| 2017 | Florida International 30 | Charlotte 29 | 19 ptsin game |
| 2023 | Marshall Thundering Herd 41 | Old Dominion Monarchs 35 | 18 ptsin game |
| 2023 | Utah State Aggies 34 | UConn Huskies 33 | 17 ptsin game |
Highest-scoring games
Combined points, both teams.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | Minnesota 112 | Macalester 0 | 112 pts |
| 1922 | Alabama 110 | Marion 0 | 110 pts |
| 1903 | Chicago 108 | Monmouth 0 | 108 pts |
| 2016 | BYU 55 | Toledo 53 | 108 pts |
| 2017 | Ohio Bobcats 58 | Massachusetts Minutemen 50 | 108 pts |
Biggest crowds
Announced attendance.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Penn State Nittany Lions 33 | Northwestern Wildcats 7 | 108,837 |
| 2017 | #4 Penn State 45 | Indiana 14 | 107,542 |
| 2023 | #3 Texas Longhorns 40 | #24 Kansas Jayhawks 14 | 102,986 |
| 2017 | #7 Georgia 41 | Tennessee 0 | 102,455 |
| 2023 | #21 Tennessee Volunteers 41 | South Carolina Gamecocks 20 | 101,915 |