Coming into Saturday, the No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide were undefeated and headed toward what looked like an easy win against the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Then everything went wrong.
With Vanderbilt fans pointing to the scoreboard in front of Alabama fans who made the trip to Nashville, the Commodores stunned the Crimson Tide 40-35. To put this in perspective, Vanderbilt hadn't had a halftime lead against a No. 1-ranked opponent since 1977, and had scored all of 13 points against Alabama in the entire Nick Saban era.
The Commodores' major road triumph wasn't the first upset of the season, but it has certainly been the largest. We're tracking all of the biggest upsets of the 2024 college football season throughout the fall.
Oct. 5: Vanderbilt 40 - Alabama 35
The Alabama Crimson Tide were riding high after an incredible Week 4 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs -- a victory which propelled them into the No. 1 ranking in the nation.
But then came the 2-2 Vanderbilt Commodores.
Vanderbilt roared out to a 23-14 lead at halftime and never let up, answering Alabama with a score every time the Crimson Tide came close. Diego Pavia threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns as the Commodores pulled off the biggest upset of the year to date.
Oct. 5: Arkansas 19 - Tennessee 14
The second upset of a top-5 team on Oct. 5, the game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Tennessee Volunteers was a lower-scoring affair than the Alabama-Vanderbilt barnburner -- but no less exciting.
The score was only 3-0 at halftime, but No. 4 Tennessee went ahead after two touchdowns in the third quarter by running back Dylan Sampson. Arkansas kept pace, however, and went ahead for good with a Malachi Singleton rushing touchdown with 1:17 remaining. Tennessee knocked on the door in the final seconds, but were unable to score as Arkansas pulled off the upset.
Sept. 28: Kentucky 20 - Ole Miss 17
Two weeks after the Kentucky Wildcats saw their upset bid against top-ranked Georgia fall heartbreakingly short, they got a second chance at a statement win ... and took it.
Facing off against the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels on the road in Oxford, the Wildcats went up 20-17 with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter thanks to a touchdown run by Josh Kattus. The Wildcats' defense would bend -- allowing the Rebels into field goal range with a chance to send the game to overtime -- but didn't break. Caden Davis' 48-yard attempt at an equalizing field goal drifted wide as time expired.
Sept. 7: Northern Illinois 16 - Notre Dame 14
The Huskies' defense won the day at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame was held to just 286 yards of total offense as Northern Illinois eventually put through the decisive field goal late in the fourth quarter.
The win was the Huskies' first in program history against a top-10 opponent. NIU had been 0-14 across all prior attempts, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Aug. 24: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 24 - Florida State Seminoles 21
College football returned with a bang, as the Yellow Jackets pulled off an immediate stunner in Dublin, Ireland. Florida State entered the 2024 season ranked No. 10 in the AP poll but couldn't find traction after an unbeaten regular season in 2023.
The contest came down to the leg of Georgia Tech kicker Aidan Birr. The redshirt sophomore kept his cool, driving the game-winning field goal through the uprights as the clock struck zero.
Ice in his veins 🧊#StingEm 🐝 pic.twitter.com/ppAs6EWbjq
— Georgia Tech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) August 24, 2024