USC stuns No. 2 Ohio State, 30–18
USC closed as a 6.5-point underdog and won outright. It was unranked USC taking down the No. 2 team in the AP poll.
Week 9 of the 2026 season produced 12 upsets. Unranked teams beat AP Top 25 opponents 5 times and underdogs of 3 or more points won outright 10 times. No. 2 Ohio State was the only top-10 team to lose, to USC. The 2026 season has had 108 upsets so far, about 12 a week.
USC's 30-18 win over No. 2 Ohio State was the upset of the week, and it wasn't especially close. USC was a 6.5-point underdog at home and won by 12. Our projection had Ohio State sliding from No. 2 all the way to No. 14 in this week's poll, the biggest drop of any team that stayed in the Top 25.
The best finish belonged to Iowa State, a 10-point underdog that outlasted No. 24 Oklahoma State 51-49. Syracuse took down No. 19 SMU 30-27 as an 8.5-point underdog. The biggest point-spread upset of the week came on Thursday night, when Troy beat James Madison 24-21 as a 17.5-point underdog.
In all there were 12 upsets this week, five of them against ranked teams. That's fewer than the 18 and 17 of the previous two weeks, but the damage landed higher up: Ohio State is the second top-two team to lose in three weeks, after Auburn beat No. 1 Georgia in week 7.
All 2026 Week 9 upsets, biggest first
Upset size is the points the winner overcame on the closing line plus a bonus for beating a ranked team. How it’s scored
USC 30, 
No. 2 Ohio State 18Upset size18.5
Troy 24, 
James Madison 21Upset size17.5
Syracuse 30, 
No. 19 SMU 27Upset size12
Iowa State 51, 
No. 24 Oklahoma State 49Upset size11
Sacramento State 31, 
Kent State 10Upset size7.5
Washington 17, 
Nebraska 10Upset size7.5
Fresno State 38, 
Oregon State 22Upset size6
Clemson 36, 
Florida State 24Upset size4.5
Coastal Carolina 31, 
Georgia State 20Upset size3.5
South Carolina 42, 
Oklahoma 25Upset size3.5
Oregon 34, 
No. 20 Northwestern 26Upset size3
Iowa 30, 
No. 25 Wisconsin 0Upset size0.5