BYU’s loss to UCF makes history not seen in college football since 2007

BYU’s 39-31 double-overtime loss at UCF on Saturday gave college football a third straight week in which an Associated Press top-2 team fell to an unranked opponent, a run the sport hadn’t produced since 2007.

No. 1 Texas fell 27-24 to Oklahoma on Oct. 10 and No. 1 Georgia fell 27-24 to Auburn a week later, both on field goals as time expired. The Cougars, ranked second for the first time in program history, also lost on the game’s final snap.

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Texas, Georgia and BYU losses

Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell drilled a 47-yard field goal on the final play in Dallas after Oklahoma safety Peyton Bowen’s 42-yard pick-six of Texas quarterback Arch Manning gave the Sooners their first lead. Oklahoma beat a No. 1 team for the first time since a 38-17 win over Missouri in 2007.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton’s fumble with 58 seconds left in Athens set up Auburn kicker Alex McPherson’s 34-yard winner, which snapped Georgia’s 53-game winning streak against unranked teams. “We helped them,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.

UCF quarterback Keyone Jenkins threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns in Orlando. A blocked 46-yard UCF field goal try and a 10-second runoff, triggered when kicker Will Stone’s helmet came off, sent the game to overtime tied at 31.

In the second overtime, a roughing-the-kicker penalty extended a UCF possession that ended in a touchdown and two-point conversion, and a goal-line stand sealed the first win over an AP top-5 opponent in program history.

“This will be humbling for us, and we have to learn from it,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said.

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When did this last happen?

The 2007 college football season produced eight losses by AP top-2 teams to unranked opponents, and it strung them together twice. Stanford, a 41-point underdog, beat No. 2 USC 24-23 on Oct. 6. Oregon State beat No. 2 Cal 31-28 on Oct. 13, and No. 2 South Florida lost 30-27 at Rutgers on Oct. 18, making it three No. 2 teams beaten in three weeks.

The second streak lasted five weeks, starting when Florida State beat No. 2 Boston College 27-17 on Nov. 3. Illinois beat No. 1 Ohio State 28-21 on Nov. 10, and No. 2 Oregon lost 34-24 at Arizona on Nov. 15 after Ducks quarterback Dennis Dixon hurt his knee. Arkansas beat No. 1 LSU 50-48 in triple overtime on Nov. 23, and 4-7 Pitt beat No. 2 West Virginia 13-9 on Dec. 1.

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BYU’s College Football Playoff path after UCF

BYU dropped to 6-1 and 3-1 in Big 12 play a week after beating then-No. 2 Notre Dame, a win that had BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier airing a recruiting grudge and the Cougars chasing their first No. 1 ranking since 1984.

Bachmeier threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns with an interception at UCF, and wide receiver Kyler Kasper caught six passes for 129 yards.

BYU is the fifth AP top-2 team to lose this season, the most before November since 1990, according to ESPN Insights. A loss at the top didn’t end LSU’s 2007 run, as the Tigers lost twice at No. 1 and still beat Ohio State 38-24 for the Bowl Championship Series title.

Baylor visits UCF on Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN, and Arizona State visits BYU on Oct. 31 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

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