October 5 in college football
Every October 5 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.
- 1,209games on file
- 35unranked wins over ranked teams
- 20ranked vs ranked meetings
- 1901–2025seasons covered
Unranked over ranked on October 5
The 35 such results, best rank beaten first; the top 14 are listed.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Vanderbilt Commodores 40 | #1 Alabama Crimson Tide 35 | At home · FirstBank Stadium · Nashville, TN |
| 1985 | Arizona 28 | #3 SMU 6 | At home |
| 2024 | Arkansas Razorbacks 19 | #4 Tennessee Volunteers 14 | At home · Reynolds Razorback Stadium · Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| 1963 | Illinois 10 | #4 Northwestern 9 | At home |
| 1985 | Illinois 31 | #5 Ohio State 28 | At home |
| 1974 | Kansas 28 | #5 Texas A&M 10 | At home |
| 2002 | Ole Miss 17 | #6 Florida 14 | At home · Vaught-Hemingway |
| 1991 | Georgia 27 | #6 Clemson 12 | At home |
| 1957 | North Carolina 13 | #6 Navy 7 | At home |
| 1963 | LSU 7 | #7 Georgia Tech 6 | At home |
| 1968 | Syracuse 20 | #9 UCLA 7 | At home |
| 2024 | Washington Huskies 27 | #10 Michigan Wolverines 17 | At home · Husky Stadium · Seattle, Washington |
| 2024 | Minnesota Golden Gophers 24 | #11 USC Trojans 17 | At home · Huntington Bank Stadium · Minneapolis, MN |
| 1968 | Ole Miss 10 | #11 Alabama 8 | At home |
Ranked vs ranked on October 5
20 meetings in all; the ten with the highest-ranked team are listed.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | #1 Florida State 46 | #10 Syracuse 14 | At home |
| 1968 | #2 USC 28 | #13 Miami 3 | At home |
| 1996 | #3 Ohio State 38 | #4 Penn State 7 | At home |
| 2019 | #4 Ohio State 34 | #25 Michigan State 10 | At home · Ohio Stadium · Columbus, Ohio, OH |
| 2013 | #4 Ohio St. 40 | #16 Northwestern 30 | On the road |
| 2013 | #5 Stanford 31 | #15 Washington 28 | At home |
| 1996 | #22 Northwestern 17 | #6 Michigan 16 | At home |
| 2019 | #10 Florida 24 | #7 Auburn 13 | At home · BHG Stadium · Gainesville, Fla., FL |
| 2002 | #7 Georgia 27 | #22 Alabama 25 | On the road · Bryant-Denny Stadium · Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 1996 | #7 Nebraska 39 | #16 Kansas State 3 | On the road |
One-score finishes between ranked teams
Decided by three points or fewer.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | #22 Northwestern 17 | #6 Michigan 16 | 1 pt |
| 2002 | #7 Georgia 27 | #22 Alabama 25 | 2 pts |
| 2013 | #5 Stanford 31 | #15 Washington 28 | 3 pts |
| 2002 | #17 Washington State 30 | #18 USC 27 | 3 pts |
| 1991 | #18 California 27 | #24 UCLA 24 | 3 pts |
Top-10 teams routed
The widest losses by a team ranked in the top ten.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | #1 Florida State 46 | #10 Syracuse 14 | 32 pts |
| 2024 | #25 Texas A&M Aggies 41 | #9 Missouri Tigers 10 | 31 pts |
| 1996 | #3 Ohio State 38 | #4 Penn State 7 | 31 pts |
| 1985 | Arizona 28 | #3 SMU 6 | 22 pts |
| 1985 | #11 Florida 20 | #8 LSU 0 | 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #8 Miami Hurricanes 39 | California Golden Bears 38 | 25 ptsin game |
| 2019 | #24 SMU 43 | Tulsa 37 | 21 ptsin game |
| 2013 | Charlotte 53 | Gardner-Webb 51 | 21 ptsin game |
| 2002 | Texas Tech 48 | #23 Texas A&M 47 | 18 ptsin game |
| 2019 | Jacksonville State 31 | Tennessee State 23 | 17 ptsin game |
Highest-scoring games
Combined points, both teams.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | #17 Baylor 73 | West Virginia 42 | 115 pts |
| 1991 | Fresno State 94 | New Mexico 17 | 111 pts |
| 2013 | Rutgers 55 | SMU 52 | 107 pts |
| 1996 | Pittsburgh 53 | Temple 52 | 105 pts |
| 2013 | Charlotte 53 | Gardner-Webb 51 | 104 pts |
Biggest crowds
Announced attendance.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | #19 Michigan 10 | #14 Iowa 3 | 111,519 |
| 2013 | #19 Michigan 42 | Minnesota 13 | 111,079 |
| 2024 | #7 Penn State Nittany Lions 27 | UCLA Bruins 11 | 110,047 |
| 2019 | #12 Penn State 35 | Purdue 7 | 106,536 |
| 2002 | #10 Tennessee 41 | Arkansas 38 | 105,688 |