College Football Upsets: Several Top Teams Barely Avoid Disastrous Week 1 Result

I’m a simple man when it comes to college football. Give me upsets, show me carnage, I want to see teams who everyone thought were serious contenders have their seasons end before they get started.

We were teased several times in Week 1 with potential massive upsets, but every single one of them faded away in the dying minutes of the game. I feel robbed from what was so close to being a gloriously insane set of results in the opening week of the season.

Here are the top upsets that were oh so close to giving me oodles of joy.

No. 4 Ohio State vs Minnesota

This game happened on Thursday night, and it wasn’t close by the end but it is worth a brief mention considering Ohio State’s ranking.

The Buckeyes entered the season ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25 poll, but found themselves down 14-10 at halftime against Minnesota making many people think we could see a major upset before we reached the weekend. The Buckeyes were 14-point favorites, and they finally started acting like it in the second half.

The game ended as a push, which is the lamest result you can have as a bettor. Let me feel something!

No. 2 Oklahoma vs Tulane

This had the biggest upset of the season written all over it. Oklahoma ranks No. 2 in the AP Top 25 Poll, and an opening game against Tulane was expected to be nothing but a warmup game for one of the top contenders in the country.’

Oklahoma entered the game as a massive 31-point favorite. After a sketchy first quarter, Oklahoma seemed to take control in the second quarter and went into the locker room at half time up 37-14, but Tulane refused to die.

The Green Wave came out strong in the second half, keeping Oklahoma to only three points and pouring on 21 of their own. They recovered their onside kick with two minutes to go in the game, and gave themselves a chance to go down and score a game winning touchdown.

It wasn’t meant to be, as the Oklahoma defense finally stood up and stopped them one-yard short of a first down on Tulane’s final attempt. This likely would have gone down as the biggest upset of the season.

No. 11 Oregon vs Fresno State

Right after Tulane failed to come through with the major upset, my eyes turned to the Oregon vs Fresno State game. Surely there must have been a big underdog lurking around the corner, and the Bulldogs looked like they might be the ones.

Fresno State, as a 20-point underdog, took a three-point lead over the Ducks with 13:03 left to go in the game. I was ready to explode.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be once again. Oregon scored 10 straight points to win the game 31-24.

Mississippi State vs Louisiana Tech

Mississippi State isn’t exactly considered a top contender this year, but the Bulldogs entered their Week 1 matchup against Louisiana Tech as 23-point favorites.

Finally getting to see a massive underdog win looked like all but a guarantee as L.A. Tech took a 20-point lead late in the 3rd quarter in what would have been a +1075 moneyline win for some lucky bettors out there.

My dreams were promptly crushed as Mississippi State scored 21-straight points to win the game.

No. 7 Iowa State vs Northern Iowa

Many people thought Iowa State would be the top challenger to Oklahoma in the Big 12, but its season almost ended before it started. Northern Iowa never took the lead, but they were one touchdown away from doing so for the majority of the game.

The Cyclones entered the game as 28.5-point favorites and held on to the win by a final score of 16-10.

The night isn’t over, but it looks like I’ll have to wait until Week 2 for another chance to witness a juicy underdog shock the world.

UPDATE: Montana defeats No. 20 Washington as a 22.5-point underdog! Upsets do exist!!

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