Fansided

30 most shocking moments in college football history

By Nathaniel Reeves

Boise State's Ian Johnson scoring the winning 2-point conversion during the Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and Oklahoma at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 1, 2007. (Photo by Steve Grayson/WireImage)
Boise State's Ian Johnson scoring the winning 2-point conversion during the Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and Oklahoma at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 1, 2007. (Photo by Steve Grayson/WireImage) /
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Tavita Pritchard #14 of the Stanford Cardinals carries the ball against the USC Trojans at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. Stanford defeated USC 24-23. (Photo by Charles Baus/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
Tavita Pritchard #14 of the Stanford Cardinals carries the ball against the USC Trojans at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. Stanford defeated USC 24-23. (Photo by Charles Baus/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images) /

28. Stanford shocks USC in 2007

Then-lowly Stanford pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football history over USC in 2007, jump-starting Jim Harbaugh’s coaching career.

There are hundreds of stats to outline how dominant USC’s dynasty was entering a week five tilt against the Cardinal, including a 35-game home winning streak and five consecutive appearances in major bowl games. The defending Rose Bowl champions opened the season at No. 1 and rolled to a 4-0 start behind a smothering defense that featured Rey Maualuga, Lawrence Jackson and Sedrick Ellis.

On the other side, Stanford slid to a miserable 1-11 in 2006, prompting the school to hire Harbaugh out of FCS San Diego. The Cardinal started the season at 1-3 with blowout losses in each of their conference games and had to start little-used backup quarterback Tavita Pritchard, naturally leading oddsmakers to peg USC as a 41-point favorite.

USC pulled out to a quick 9-0 lead and maintained a 23-14 advantage with 11 minutes remaining, yet could never really pull away and gave Stanford life by turning the ball over five times. Stanford hit a field goal with 5:43 to go, and the struggling Pritchard improbably capped off a game-winning drive with a touchdown pass to Mark Bradford inside the final minute for the legendary 24-23 win.

A 41-point underdog victory stood as an NCAA record until Howard topped UNLV earlier this season, The fact that the Trojans turned out to be an elite team that went on to win the Rose Bowl while Stanford finished at 4-8 makes one of college football’s biggest upsets even more shocking.

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