October 18 in college football
Every October 18 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.
- 1,254games on file
- 36unranked wins over ranked teams
- 37ranked vs ranked meetings
- 1901–2025seasons covered
Unranked over ranked on October 18
The 36 such results, best rank beaten first; the top 14 are listed.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights 30 | #2 South Florida Bulls 27 | At home |
| 2014 | West Virginia 41 | #4 Baylor 27 | At home |
| 1958 | Purdue 14 | #5 Michigan State 6 | At home · West Lafayette, IN |
| 1958 | Tulane 14 | #6 Navy 6 | On the road |
| 2025 | Arizona State Sun Devils 26 | #7 Texas Tech Red Raiders 22 | At home · Mountain America Stadium · Tempe, AZ |
| 2013 | UCF 38 | #8 Louisville 35 | On the road |
| 1997 | Ole Miss 36 | #8 LSU 21 | On the road · Tiger Stadium · Baton Rouge, LA |
| 1952 | Notre Dame 26 | #9 Purdue 14 | On the road |
| 2003 | Florida 33 | #11 Arkansas 28 | On the road · Razorback Stadium |
| 1997 | Northwestern 19 | #12 Michigan State 17 | At home |
| 1947 | Wisconsin 9 | #12 Yale 0 | On the road |
| 1941 | LSU 27 | #12 Rice 0 | At home |
| 1969 | Michigan State 23 | #13 Michigan 12 | At home · East Lansing, MI |
| 1958 | Washington State 6 | #14 Oregon 0 | On the road |
Ranked vs ranked on October 18
37 meetings in all; the ten with the highest-ranked team are listed.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | #1 Texas Longhorns 56 | #11 Missouri Tigers 31 | At home · Royal-Texas Memorial |
| 2003 | #1 Oklahoma 34 | #24 Missouri 13 | At home |
| 2014 | #2 Florida St. 31 | #5 Notre Dame 27 | At home |
| 1952 | #2 Maryland 38 | #20 Navy 7 | At home |
| 1997 | #3 Florida State 38 | #21 Georgia Tech 0 | At home |
| 2008 | #4 Oklahoma Sooners 45 | #16 Kansas Jayhawks 31 | At home · Memorial Stadium • Attendance: 85241 |
| 1986 | #4 Michigan 20 | #8 Iowa 17 | At home |
| 1958 | #13 Iowa 20 | #4 Wisconsin 9 | On the road |
| 2025 | #9 Georgia Bulldogs 43 | #5 Ole Miss Rebels 35 | At home · Sanford Stadium · Athens, Georgia |
| 1997 | #5 Michigan 28 | #15 Iowa 24 | At home |
One-score finishes between ranked teams
Decided by three points or fewer.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | #11 Texas A&M 31 | #20 Baylor 30 | 1 pt |
| 2014 | #14 Kansas St. 31 | #11 Oklahoma 30 | 1 pt |
| 1986 | #4 Michigan 20 | #8 Iowa 17 | 3 pts |
| 2003 | #13 Purdue 26 | #14 Wisconsin 23 | 3 pts |
| 2025 | #15 BYU Cougars 24 | #23 Utah Utes 21 | 3 pts |
Top-10 teams routed
The widest losses by a team ranked in the top ten.
| Season | Winner | Ranked loser | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | #6 Oklahoma 42 | #8 Kansas 20 | 22 pts |
| 1997 | Ole Miss 36 | #8 LSU 21 | 15 pts |
| 2014 | West Virginia 41 | #4 Baylor 27 | 14 pts |
| 1947 | #20 Kentucky 14 | #10 Vanderbilt 0 | 14 pts |
| 1997 | #7 Florida 24 | #6 Auburn 10 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | East Texas A&M Lions 52 | Incarnate Word Cardinals 45 | 21 ptsin game |
| 2014 | Tennessee Tech 39 | Eastern Ky. 31 | 21 ptsin game |
| 2013 | UCF 38 | #8 Louisville 35 | 21 ptsin game |
| 2014 | South Fla. 38 | Tulsa 30 | 20 ptsin game |
| 2014 | Robert Morris 27 | Central Conn. St. 24 | 18 ptsin game |
Highest-scoring games
Combined points, both teams.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | BYU 70 | Utah State 46 | 116 pts |
| 2012 | SMU Mustangs 72 | Houston Cougars 42 | 114 pts |
| 2008 | Tulsa Golden Hurricane 77 | UTEP Miners 35 | 112 pts |
| 2014 | Grambling 63 | Ark.-Pine Bluff 39 | 102 pts |
| 2008 | Florida A&M Rattlers 52 | Southern Jaguars 49 | 101 pts |
Biggest crowds
Announced attendance.
| Season | Winner | Loser | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Michigan Wolverines 24 | Washington Huskies 7 | 110,701 |
| 2008 | #3 Penn State Nittany Lions 46 | Michigan Wolverines 17 | 110,017 |
| 2014 | #13 Ohio St. 56 | Rutgers 17 | 106,795 |
| 2003 | #8 Ohio State 19 | #9 Iowa 10 | 105,044 |
| 2014 | #7 Alabama 59 | #21 Texas A&M 0 | 101,821 |