October 3 in college football
Every October 3 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.
- 1,171games on file
- 32unranked wins over ranked teams
- 25ranked vs ranked meetings
- 1900–2025seasons covered
Unranked over ranked on October 3
The 32 such results, best rank beaten first; the top 14 are listed.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Michigan State 17 | #2 USC 7 | At home · East Lansing, MI |
| 1970 | Purdue 26 | #3 Stanford 14 | On the road |
| 1959 | Illinois 20 | #4 Army 14 | At home |
| 2015 | Arizona State 38 | #7 UCLA 23 | On the road |
| 1981 | Florida State 36 | #7 Ohio State 27 | On the road |
| 1964 | Kentucky 20 | #7 Auburn 0 | At home |
| 1970 | Kansas State 21 | #8 Colorado 20 | At home |
| 1959 | Purdue 28 | #8 Notre Dame 7 | At home |
| 2020 | TCU 33 | #9 Texas 31 | On the road · DKR Texas Memorial · Austin, Texas |
| 1981 | Missouri 14 | #9 Mississippi State 3 | On the road |
| 1964 | Iowa 28 | #10 Washington 18 | At home |
| 2020 | Tulsa 34 | #11 UCF 26 | On the road · Bounce House · Orlando, Fla. |
| 1992 | Arizona 23 | #11 UCLA 3 | At home |
| 2009 | UTEP Miners 58 | #12 Houston Cougars 41 | At home |
Ranked vs ranked on October 3
25 meetings in all; the ten with the highest-ranked team are listed.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | #1 Ohio State 28 | #7 Penn State 9 | At home |
| 1992 | #1 Washington 17 | #20 USC 10 | At home |
| 2020 | #2 Alabama 52 | #13 Texas A&M 24 | At home · Bryant-Denny Stadium · Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| 1992 | #2 Miami 19 | #3 Florida State 16 | At home |
| 1970 | #2 Texas 20 | #13 UCLA 17 | At home |
| 1959 | #2 Northwestern 14 | #5 Iowa 10 | On the road |
| 2015 | #25 Florida 38 | #3 Ole Miss 10 | At home |
| 1987 | #3 Miami 26 | #4 Florida State 25 | On the road |
| 2020 | #4 Georgia 27 | #7 Auburn 6 | At home · Sanford Stadium · Athens, Ga. |
| 2009 | #4 LSU Tigers 20 | #18 Georgia Bulldogs 13 | On the road |
One-score finishes between ranked teams
Decided by three points or fewer.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | #3 Miami 26 | #4 Florida State 25 | 1 pt |
| 1998 | #12 Georgia 28 | #6 LSU 27 | 1 pt |
| 2009 | #17 Miami Hurricanes 21 | #8 Oklahoma Sooners 20 | 1 pt |
| 2015 | #12 Clemson 24 | #6 Notre Dame 22 | 2 pts |
| 1970 | #2 Texas 20 | #13 UCLA 17 | 3 pts |
Top-10 teams routed
The widest losses by a team ranked in the top ten.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | #13 Alabama 38 | #8 Georgia 10 | 28 pts |
| 2015 | #25 Florida 38 | #3 Ole Miss 10 | 28 pts |
| 1959 | Purdue 28 | #8 Notre Dame 7 | 21 pts |
| 1964 | #8 Michigan 21 | #6 Navy 0 | 21 pts |
| 2020 | #4 Georgia 27 | #7 Auburn 6 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | North Carolina 38 | Georgia Tech 31 | 21 ptsin game |
| 2015 | Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 28 | North Carolina Central Eagles 26 | 19 ptsin game |
| 2020 | Tulsa 34 | #11 UCF 26 | 18 ptsin game |
| 2009 | Northwestern Wildcats 27 | Purdue Boilermakers 21 | 18 ptsin game |
| 2015 | East Carolina 49 | SMU 23 | 16 ptsin game |
Highest-scoring games
Combined points, both teams.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Oklahoma State 134 | Phillips 0 | 134 pts |
| 1914 | Washington & Jefferson 105 | Dickinson 0 | 105 pts |
| 1914 | Washington and Lee 103 | Morris Harvey 0 | 103 pts |
| 2009 | UTEP Miners 58 | #12 Houston Cougars 41 | 99 pts |
| 1981 | San José State 65 | Fresno State 33 | 98 pts |
Biggest crowds
Announced attendance.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Michigan State 34 | Michigan 8 | 103,234 |
| 2009 | Auburn Tigers 26 | Tennessee Volunteers 22 | 102,941 |
| 1998 | #3 Tennessee 17 | Auburn 9 | 85,214 |
| 1998 | #8 Florida 16 | Alabama 10 | 83,818 |
| 1998 | #12 Georgia 28 | #6 LSU 27 | 80,792 |