December 17 in college football

Every December 17 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.

46games on file
1unranked win over a ranked team
1ranked vs ranked meeting
1927–2025seasons covered

Unranked over ranked on December 17

Best rank beaten first.

Season	Winner	Ranked loser	Where
1983	Tennessee 30	#16 Maryland 23	Neutral site

Ranked vs ranked on December 17

Season	Winner	Loser	Where
1973	#16 NC State 31	#19 Kansas 18	Neutral site

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
2016	Youngstown State 40	Eastern Washington 38	14 ptsin game
2011	Ohio Bobcats 24	Utah State Aggies 23	13 ptsin game
2016	San Diego State 34	Houston 10	10 ptsin game
2021	Coastal Carolina 47	NIU 41	8 ptsin game
2022	Boise State Broncos 35	North Texas Mean Green 32	7 ptsin game

Highest-scoring games

Combined points, both teams.

Season	Winner	Loser	Points
2021	Coastal Carolina 47	NIU 41	88 pts
1948	Nevada 73	Hawai'i 12	85 pts
2024	#25 Memphis Tigers 42	West Virginia Mountaineers 37	79 pts
2016	Youngstown State 40	Eastern Washington 38	78 pts
1993	Utah State 42	Ball State 33	75 pts

Biggest crowds

Announced attendance.

Season	Winner	Loser	Attendance
1966	Texas 19	Ole Miss 0	67,000
2022	North Carolina Central Eagles 41	Jackson State Tigers 34	49,670
2022	Fresno State Bulldogs 29	Washington State Cougars 6	32,405
2022	#14 Oregon State Beavers 30	Florida Gators 3	29,750
2016	New Mexico Lobos 23	UT San Antonio Roadrunners 20	29,688