College football’s top-ranked teams don’t fall often, but when they do, the ripple can reach all the way down the AP poll. Oklahoma’s latest stun of No. 1 Texas pushed the Sooners further up the all-time list of programs with the most wins over No. 1 opponents, and it added another wild chapter to a category packed with heavyweight moments.
That Oklahoma win came after Texas had already knocked off No. 1 Ohio State earlier this season, jostling the top of the 2026 rankings once again.
The Sooners pulled it off with a rebound for the ages, fueled by two takeaways. And with that, they moved deeper into elite company.
Some programs have built their names on these rare nights. Penn State got its first such win in 1981, beating Dan Marino and Pitt, then added two more in the 1980s, both in national title games: against Georgia in 1982 and Miami in 1986.
The Nittany Lions also edged No. 1 Notre Dame in South Bend while ranked 18th.
Arkansas has four wins against No. 1 teams, including three over top-ranked Texas in 1964, 1965 and 1981. The Hogs did it again in 2007 against LSU, which went on to win the BCS national championship. Darren McFadden ran for over 200 yards in that 50-48 triple-overtime classic.
UCLA’s first and last victories over a No. 1 team both came against Ohio State. The most recent was a 23-10 Rose Bowl win while the Bruins were ranked 23rd. UCLA also snapped Nebraska’s 32-game winning streak in 1972, ending the Huskers’ first football dynasty.
Wisconsin’s list is smaller, but there’s no mistaking the quality. The Badgers beat Ohio State in the year it won its first national title, 1942, and did so as the No. 6 team.
They also upset Northwestern in 1962 and took down No. 1 Michigan in 1981 while unranked.
That Ohio State win helped send Wisconsin to a Rose Bowl as co-Big Ten champion.
Auburn has made plenty of noise in this category, too. One of its wins knocked Alabama out of the national title race and sent Auburn to the SEC Championship Game, where it beat Missouri before falling to Florida State in the BCS title game.
The Tigers also have three wins in this group in the 21st century, with the last two coming against Alabama. The first of those was the famous “Kick Six,” when Chris Davis returned a Tide field goal attempt for a game-winning touchdown.
Texas has its own place in the story, and this season it added another headline-grabber: a stunning comeback against top-ranked Ohio State after trailing by 20 at home. Arch Manning was at the center of a 21-point fourth-quarter rally.
The Longhorns had also beaten No. 1 Oklahoma in 2008.
And if there’s one Texas win that stands above the rest, it’s the 2006 Rose Bowl against USC, when Vince Young ran for the most famous touchdown in NCAA history and Texas won the national championship.
Ohio State’s own record in these games has been tied closely to title runs. Four of the Buckeyes’ last six wins over No. 1 teams came in seasons when they went on to win the national championship: against Oregon in 2024, Alabama in 2014, Miami in 2002 and USC in 1968.
Purdue belongs on the list, too, with seven wins over No. 1 opponents. Four came against Notre Dame, while the other three were against Big Ten teams: Michigan State, national champion Minnesota in 1960 and Michigan in 1976.
The Boilermakers also own a sharp bit of history in the Top 25 poll era, with 10 wins over Top 5 teams while unranked, including twice in 2021 against No. 2 Iowa and No.
3 Michigan State.
USC has done plenty of the damage itself as a top team, but it has also delivered when cast in the spoiler role. Two of the Trojans’ first wins over No. 1 competition came against rival Notre Dame.
In 1978, USC handed eventual AP national champion Alabama its only loss. Two years later, it upset No. 1 and undefeated Ohio State in the 1980 Rose Bowl, Earle Bruce’s first season after Woody Hayes.
Oklahoma’s history in this category has usually come with the Sooners already sitting near the top. Each time they beat a No. 1 team, they had been in the top 10, except for the most recent one: the 2026 Red River Shootout, when unranked Oklahoma took down top-ranked arch-rival Texas with a last-second field goal.
Miami’s run through the 1980s and into the new century gave the Hurricanes a string of marquee wins over No. 1 teams. They beat Oklahoma for another national title in 1988, then upset No. 1 and defending champion Notre Dame in 1989. Three of their last four wins in this category came against Florida State, including the 1988 opener and victories over perfect Seminoles teams in 1991 and 2000.
Notre Dame got on this list early in the poll era, beating Northwestern in 1936. The Irish also won national championships through victories over No.
1 Alabama in 1973 and No. 1 Texas in 1977.
And for all the history around it, the 1988 home game against Miami - “Catholics vs. Convicts” - still stands out most.
Notre Dame ended Miami’s 36-game winning streak with a one-point win on the way to a national title. The Irish also beat No.
1 Clemson during the Covid season.
Alabama has done a lot of its work as the No. 1 team, but it has also stacked wins over top-ranked opponents, especially under Nick Saban. Eight of those 11 victories came during his tenure, including two against Clemson in College Football Playoff national title games, one against LSU for the BCS title, one against the first-ever CFP No. 1 in Mississippi State, and two against Georgia in SEC Championship Games.
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