October 4 in college football
Every October 4 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.
- 1,288games on file
- 24unranked wins over ranked teams
- 34ranked vs ranked meetings
- 1902–2025seasons covered
Unranked over ranked on October 4
The 24 such results, best rank beaten first; the top 14 are listed.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | UCLA Bruins 42 | #7 Penn State Nittany Lions 37 | At home · Rose Bowl · Pasadena, CA |
| 2003 | Auburn 28 | #7 Tennessee 21 | At home · Jordan-Hare · Auburn, AL |
| 2014 | Utah 30 | #8 UCLA 28 | On the road |
| 1975 | Michigan State 10 | #8 Notre Dame 3 | On the road · Notre Dame, IN |
| 2025 | Florida Gators 29 | #9 Texas Longhorns 21 | At home · Ben Hill Griffin Stadium · Gainesville, Florida |
| 1958 | Tennessee 13 | #11 Mississippi State 8 | At home |
| 2025 | Cincinnati Bearcats 38 | #14 Iowa State Cyclones 30 | At home · Nippert Stadium · Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 1997 | Miami (OH) 24 | #14 Virginia Tech 17 | On the road |
| 1969 | Notre Dame 42 | #14 Michigan State 28 | At home · Notre Dame, IN |
| 1952 | Purdue 21 | #15 Ohio State 14 | On the road |
| 2014 | Arizona St. 38 | #16 Southern California 34 | On the road |
| 2014 | Northwestern 20 | #17 Wisconsin 14 | At home |
| 1952 | LSU 27 | #17 Rice 7 | On the road |
| 2019 | Cincinnati 27 | #18 UCF 24 | At home · Nippert · Cincinnati, Ohio, OH |
Ranked vs ranked on October 4
34 meetings in all; the ten with the highest-ranked team are listed.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | #1 Oklahoma 21 | #19 Colorado 20 | At home |
| 1980 | #11 UCLA 17 | #2 Ohio State 0 | On the road |
| 1975 | #2 Ohio State 41 | #13 UCLA 20 | On the road |
| 1952 | #8 Wisconsin 20 | #2 Illinois 6 | At home |
| 2025 | #3 Miami Hurricanes 28 | #18 Florida State Seminoles 22 | On the road · Doak Campbell Stadium · Tallahassee, FL |
| 2014 | #11 Ole Miss 23 | #3 Alabama 17 | At home |
| 1997 | #3 Nebraska 56 | #17 Kansas State 26 | At home |
| 1980 | #16 Florida State 18 | #3 Nebraska 14 | On the road |
| 2014 | #25 TCU 37 | #4 Oklahoma 33 | At home |
| 2014 | #5 Auburn 41 | #15 LSU 7 | At home |
One-score finishes between ranked teams
Decided by three points or fewer.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | #1 Oklahoma 21 | #19 Colorado 20 | 1 pt |
| 1969 | #8 Purdue 36 | #17 Stanford 35 | 1 pt |
| 2008 | #19 Vanderbilt Commodores 14 | #13 Auburn Tigers 13 | 1 pt |
| 1969 | #15 Alabama 33 | #20 Ole Miss 32 | 1 pt |
| 2014 | #9 Notre Dame 17 | #14 Stanford 14 | 3 pts |
Top-10 teams routed
The widest losses by a team ranked in the top ten.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | #12 Michigan 31 | #5 Missouri 7 | 24 pts |
| 1980 | #11 UCLA 17 | #2 Ohio State 0 | 17 pts |
| 2014 | #12 Mississippi St. 48 | #6 Texas A&M 31 | 17 pts |
| 2007 | #11 South Carolina Gamecocks 38 | #8 Kentucky Wildcats 23 | 15 pts |
| 1952 | #8 Wisconsin 20 | #2 Illinois 6 | 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks 48 | Southeastern Louisiana Lions 45 | 28 ptsin game |
| 2014 | Miami (OH) 42 | Massachusetts 41 | 27 ptsin game |
| 2002 | BYU 35 | Utah State 34 | 27 ptsat a quarter |
| 2003 | Liberty 31 | VMI 28 | 25 ptsat a quarter |
| 2003 | Idaho 35 | New Mexico State 31 | 21 ptsat a quarter |
Highest-scoring games
Combined points, both teams.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | Oklahoma 157 | Kingfisher 0 | 157 pts |
| 1980 | #12 Oklahoma 82 | Colorado 42 | 124 pts |
| 2014 | California 60 | Washington St. 59 | 119 pts |
| 2014 | Montana St. 59 | Sacramento St. 56 | 115 pts |
| 2014 | Eastern Wash. 56 | Idaho St. 53 | 109 pts |
Biggest crowds
Announced attendance.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #20 Michigan Wolverines 24 | Wisconsin Badgers 10 | 111,070 |
| 2025 | #6 Texas A&M Aggies 31 | Mississippi State Bulldogs 9 | 108,572 |
| 2025 | #1 Ohio State Buckeyes 42 | Minnesota Golden Gophers 3 | 105,114 |
| 2014 | Florida 10 | Tennessee 9 | 102,455 |
| 2025 | #10 Alabama Crimson Tide 30 | #16 Vanderbilt Commodores 14 | 100,077 |