Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where Auburn should get this oblivious-but-impactful cheerleader in uniform. First Quarter: Twelve Angry Men. Second Quarter: New Coach Report Card.
Third Quarter: September Awards
Five football Saturdays have flown past, giving us enough information to draw some conclusions and hand out some fake hardware to the best and worst things we’ve seen so far this season. (If anyone mentioned below wants a real award of some kind, The Dash will send along a stray notebook or media guide.)
September Heisman
Travis Hunter (23) narrowly over Jalen Milroe (24) and Ashton Jeanty (25)
This is a fascinating Heisman Trophy race so far, with three distinctly different candidates and selling points. A quick breakdown of each:
Hunter: The Colorado Buffaloes’ two-way star keeps stacking up incredible performances on a better-than-expected team. (Colorado at 4–1 has equaled its most wins in a season since 2019.) Hunter had another game with a touchdown reception and an interception in Colorado’s blowout of Central Florida on Saturday, continuing to do things that haven’t been done in a long time in the sport. He is tied for third in the nation in receptions per game (9.2) and in touchdown catches (six). He also has 15 tackles, two interceptions, three passes broken up and a forced fumble that sealed the victory over Baylor. He is, without question, the most unique player in the country.
Milroe: The Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback has moved to the front of the conventional Heisman pack, which usually consists of stat-producing QBs playing for national championship contenders. Meshing well with new coach Kalen DeBoer, Milroe was huge in the highest-profile game of the year to date, Alabama’s thrilling win over Georgia. He’s No. 2 nationally in pass efficiency, and his 4.5 touchdowns per game running and passing leads the nation. Winning games and producing numbers in the best league in the country goes a long way.
Jeanty: The Boise State Broncos running back has been unstoppable so far, leading the nation in rushing yards per game (211.2) and rushing touchdowns (13). His 10.3 yards per carry is assuredly unsustainable over the course of a full season, but Jeanty could have a shot at the FBS record 7.78 yards per carry for a player with 280 or more rushing attempts. It’s been five years since anyone put up a 2,000-yard rushing season, and Jeanty is already 42% of the way there after only 33% of the regular season.
(Yes, you could throw Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward into the mix as well. He’s been sensational. But his three turnovers against Virginia Tech last week also put the Hurricanes in a precarious position that they narrowly escaped with their perfect record intact. Give him the September Transfer Heisman at this point.)
Coach of the Month
Barry Odom (26), UNLV Rebels
Odom’s program is 4–0 for the first time in 40 years, 2–0 against power-conference competition and 1–0 after its starting quarterback up and quit in an NIL payment dispute. With SlukaGate and conference realignment drama swirling around the program all last week, UNLV promptly routed Fresno State on Saturday, 59–14. (That’s 25 points more than Fresno’s margin of defeat against Michigan, by the way.) The Rebels are an all-three-phases team, scoring touchdowns on defense, a punt return and a kickoff return.
Odom’s October starts with a visit Friday night from Syracuse. If UNLV goes 3–0 against power-conference opponents, that will be a College Football Playoff resume line that no other Group of 5 school could match.
Game of the Month
Alabama 41, Georgia 34 (27)
From the overpowering Crimson Tide start to the determined Bulldogs comeback to the lightning-strike winning touchdown from Milroe to scintillating freshman Ryan Williams, the marquee SEC showdown fulfilled the hype. If someone tries to tell you the sport is ruining itself, just flip on video of this game and prove otherwise. From Monday to Friday, college football often is a mess, but not on Saturdays.
Play of the Month
Colorado’s Mile High Miracle (28)
The Hail Mary touchdown pass from quarterback Shedeur Sanders to receiver LaJohntay Wester to force overtime against Baylor. It was nearly equaled (or even exceeded) by the Virginia Tech Hail Mary against Miami that was overturned Friday night.
Upset of the Month
Northern Illinois Huskies 16, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 14 (29)
Inexplicable then. Moreso now, after the Huskies have lost their next two games. The #MACtion version of the Marshall debacle from 2022 was even worse than that one for Notre Dame. It might be survivable from a College Football Playoff perspective for the Irish, but we won’t know for sure what the selection committee thinks of a loss that bad until its first rankings come out Nov. 5.
Freshman of the Month
Jeremiah Smith (30), Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver
It seems preposterous to give this to anyone other than Alabama’s Williams—but have you seen this guy play? Good night. Smith stepped into a loaded receiving corps and immediately became the top target, with 19 catches for 364 yards and five touchdowns—several of them spectacular. He also added a rushing TD against Michigan State. Can he keep this up as the schedule gets harder?
Bust of the Month
Florida State Seminoles (31)
Really, bust is too kind. Abject flaming disaster after a year of smug posturing as being too good for the ACC is closer to the right label. After being picked to repeat as ACC champions, the Noles are 1–4, 1–3 in the league and rife with incompetence. FSU was most recently rag-dolled by one of the schools they voted against admitting into the league, SMU, by a score of 42–16. And it could get worse; the record of the next three opponents is 13–1.
Disappearance of the Month
Ollie Gordon (32), Oklahoma State Cowboys running back
It’s been a tough run for Gordon, from his preseason DUI that led to coach Mike Gundy weirdly riffing about drunk driving to the Pokes’ 0–2 Big 12 start. Gordon led the nation in rushing last season with 1,732 yards, averaging 123.71 per game, but he hasn’t cracked the 100-yard mark against FBS competition yet this season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Forde-Yard Dash: Handing Out September Awards, Including Heisman Favorite.
