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College Football's Best and Worst of September: Teams, players, coaches, moments & more

Screenshot 2025-08-29 at 11.28.07 AMby: Chris Low3 hours agoclowfb
Diego Pavia, Dan Lanning, Ahmad Harvey, Dabo afi

The first month of the college football season is behind us, and if it’s any indication, we’re in store for a fantastic finish.

But come on, when’s the last time college football hasn’t delivered?

We at On3 take a look back at the best (and worst) players, plays, coaches, teams, games, moments and a little bit of everything else in September. And, yes, we realize the Week 1 games this year were actually played in August.

Here goes, and obviously, everyone will agree with our choices:

Best team: Ohio State

Granted, it’s a crap shoot at this juncture of the season, but Ohio State has yet to allow anybody to score more than nine points in its first four games and held Texas and Washington to a combined 13 points. The Buckeyes also have the most explosive player in the country in sophomore receiver Jeremiah Smith and a quarterback, Julian Sayin, who’s been extremely accurate and played with the kind of poise you don’t often see from a first-year starter. Sayin is only going to get better, and so is this Ohio State team. Oregon also has a claim. The Ducks are 5-0 and have one of the best wins of the season, the 30-24 double-overtime victory at Penn State last week.

Best player: Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia

Forget about who’s going to win the Heisman Trophy. It’s too early anyway to make that prediction, but no player has meant more to his team, impacted his team more and/or been as consistently productive as Pavia through the first part of the season. Pavia joins Arkansas’ Taylen Green as the only two FBS players with more than 1,200 passing yards (1,211) and 250 rushing yards (294). Pavia has thrown 13 touchdown passes, ran for two scores and led the Commodores to two road victories over Power 4 opponents. He’s averaging 8.6 yards per play, tied for first nationally. Pavia’s value is much more than just stats. His fiery nature, toughness and will to win permeates through the entire Vanderbilt team. Right on Pavia’s heels are Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. and Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar.

Best coach: Oregon’s Dan Lanning

If any athletic director in America had his or her choice of any coach in college football, Lanning would be at or near the top of the list. He’s been that good at Oregon and is only 39 years old. His Ducks are unbeaten with three wins over Power 4 foes and just went into State College and beat Penn State. Oregon returned just four starters from its Big Ten championship team a year ago, but this team looks as strong as ever and is poised to make another playoff run. Lanning and his staff have done a super job of blending in a lot of new faces and are playing without star receiver Evan Stewart, who suffered a torn patellar tendon in his knee before the start of the season.

Best win: Alabama 24, Georgia 21

The last time Georgia had lost a night game at home came back in 2009. For perspective, Kalen DeBoer was in his last season at Sioux Falls. Nick Saban was in his third season at Alabama. Kirby Smart was Saban’s defensive coordinator, and Ty Simpson was in the second grade. So history was made last Saturday when Alabama ended Georgia’s 33-game winning streak at Sanford Stadium with what was very much a statement victory. The Dawgs simply don’t lose at home. Still, DeBoer, Simpson and the Crimson Tide went into a raucous environment and brought home what was easily DeBoer’s most important win yet at Alabama and quieted his critics following the lackluster 31-17 season-opening loss to Florida State.

Best game: Virginia 46, Florida State 38, 2 OT

Friday night lights were magical for Tony Elliott and his Virginia football team in what was a thrilling double-overtime win over Florida State. The game, played last Friday night in Charlottesville, was back and forth after Virginia surged out to a 14-0 lead. Florida State rallied to go ahead 21-14, and it looked like Virginia was going to win it in regulation before a scrambling Tommy Castellanos delivered an 11-yard touchdown strike to a diving Randy Pittman Jr. on a fourth-down play with 32 seconds remaining to force overtime. The two teams both kicked field goals in the first overtime. Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second overtime, and FSU couldn’t answer in its overtime period with Duce Robinson bobbling a third-down pass going out of the back of the end zone and then Castellanos being intercepted on fourth down by Ja’son Prevard. The game was sensational, but you’re never going to see a quicker (or more dangerous) field rush. Fans trampled FSU receiver Squirrel White, but somehow made it to the locker room in what was Virginia’s first home win over a top-10 opponent in 20 years.

Best transfer: Missouri RB Ahmad Hardy

Anybody who saw Hardy’s game tape at ULM as a true freshman in 2024 shouldn’t be surprised. He’s been electric in his first season at Missouri and rushed for 100-plus yards in all five of his games. The 5-10, 210-pound sophomore transfer is a nightmare to tackle. He leads all running backs nationally with 544 yards after contact and 48 forced missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Hardy also has eight rushes of 20 yards or longer, which is tied for first nationally. We might all want to remember his name, too, when we look at running back rankings coming out of high school in the future. Hardy was nowhere to be found among the top running back prospects nationally and was unranked by most recruiting services.

Best play: Kadyn Proctor’s lateral

Yes, it went for just 11 yards, but any time you see a 366-pound tackle split out wide in the red zone and haul in a lateral to set up a touchdown – and dive for the pylon, no less – that’s one of those plays you might see in the back yard, but not in a tightly contested SEC game on the road. There were a lot of highlights in Alabama’s win over Georgia, but none more entertaining than Proctor barreling toward the goal line over Georgia defenders.

Best story: Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss

Lane Kiffin called Chambliss the “short kid from DII,” albeit endearingly so. Chambliss, who made 16 starts in his three years at Division II Ferris State, has stepped in for the injured Austin Simmons at quarterback and started the last three games for Ole Miss, which is unbeaten and ranked No. 5 in the latest AP poll. Chambliss is listed at 6 feet, and that might be a stretch, but it’s not a stretch to say that he’s been invaluable for the Rebels. Good luck in getting him out of the starting lineup now.

Best story nobody is talking about: Iowa State

Hard to believe Matt Campbell is in his 10th season at Iowa State. Every year, his name comes up in other job searches, but he’s still in Ames and has the Cyclones 5-0 with three wins over Power 4 opponents. Iowa State was 11-3 last season and lost to Arizona State in the Big 12 championship game. The Cyclones have road games the next two weeks against Cincinnati and Colorado, and then a bye week before facing BYU at home. Don’t be surprised if Iowa State is right back knocking on the playoff door again this season.

Best true freshman: Maryland QB Malik Washington

Maryland coach Mike Locksley didn’t wait. He gave Washington the start in the Terps’ opener, and he’s been exactly what Locksley said he was when he signed the Glen Burnie, Maryland native. ‘He’s different,” Locksley said. The stage hasn’t been too big for Washington, who came in amid huge expectations. The Terps are 4-0, and Washington has thrown for 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns, with only one interception, and has also rushed for two touchdowns.

Best Rocky impersonation: Georgia Tech QB Haynes King

What’s the old Rocky Balboa line? “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward.” That’s King, the Yellow Jackets’ indestructible quarterback. He keeps getting back up, keeps competing, and Georgia Tech is the same way as a football team. Please don’t sleep on Brent Key, either, when it comes to Coach of the Year voting.

Biggest surprise: Mississippi State

Jeff Lebby and his Mississippi State team are an overtime loss to Tennessee away from being unbeaten with two wins over nationally ranked teams. The Bulldogs were just 2-10 a year ago under Lebby in his first season in Starkville and didn’t win an SEC game. They brought in more than 60 new players, and the program has seen significant improvement. Lebby has the Bulldogs playing with confidence, playing hard and playing for each other. They have five games remaining against nationally ranked teams, but to be in the bowl conversation after one month is a testament to the job Lebby and his staff have done.

Best comeback: Alabama QB Ty Simpson

One fan, at least a so-called fan, sent Ty Simpson’s dad a nasty email after the FSU loss, blaming his son and calling it the worst quarterback performance he had seen in 46 years. Since that loss and the subsequent delivery of the email, Simpson has led Alabama to three straight wins, including the 24-21 victory at Georgia last Saturday. Along the way, Simpson has accounted for 11 touchdowns and is quickly moving up Heisman Trophy polls. “It’s Alabama against the world,” Simpson said.

Biggest disappointment: Clemson

This team has NFL talent up and down its roster and has the look of Dabo Swinney’s best team since that remarkable run from 2015-2018 when the Tigers won two national championships and played for two others. Even in its only win against Troy at home, Clemson looked uninspired. Swinney went on the offensive after the loss to Georgia Tech, saying he would go somewhere else and coach if fans were tired of winning and pointed to the Tigers’ string of ACC championships and playoff appearances. “I ain’t going to the beach,” he said. He might want to, though, if the Tigers (1-3) keep playing the way they did in September.

Best apology: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza

It’s not every day you hear a college player apologizing to gamblers, but that’s what Mendoza did after running 40 yards backward and taking a safety in Indiana’s 20-15 win over Iowa. He was following his coach’s orders in the final seconds on fourth down and just trying to run out the clock. With Indiana leading 20-13, Mendoza took off toward the Hoosiers’ own end zone and fell just as he crossed the goal line. Those bettors who had Indiana at -6.5 were obviously not thrilled. “I know I shouldn’t be saying this. I probably cooked people’s spreads, and I really apologize for that,” Mendoza said after the game.

Worst streak: James Franklin vs. top-10 teams

Franklin has returned Penn State to its top-10 status, with five top-10 finishes in the polls in the past nine years and two other top-20 finishes. However, he hasn’t been able to beat the best teams on his schedule. The 30-24 loss to Oregon in two overtimes last weekend at home only extended Franklin’s misery in big games. He’s now 1-18 against Big Ten teams ranked in the top 10 and 4-21 overall against top-10 teams at Penn State. “I get the narrative. It’s really not a narrative. … It’s factual. It’s the facts,” Franklin lamented.

Worst cross-country move: UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava

Iamaleava said he wanted to get back to the West Coast after his abrupt exit from Tennessee, but “Going Back to Cali” hasn’t been all it’s cracked up to be for the former five-star prospect. The Bruins are 0-4 and may be the underdog in every game they play the rest of the way. Coach DeShaun Foster was fired after an embarrassing home loss to New Mexico in Week 3, and Iamaleava has thrown four touchdown passes and three interceptions and been sacked nine times.

Worst call: The “hideout” play

Don’t get the Auburn fans started on this one. Oklahoma’s second touchdown in its 24-17 win over Auburn on Sept. 20 should have never been a touchdown, according to the SEC office. The league issued a release stating that the play, in which OU receiver Isaiah Sategna appeared to leave the field to feign a substitution but remained and caught a 24-yard touchdown pass, should have resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and the touchdown should have been nullified.

Worst loss: Oklahoma State’s 19-12 loss to Tulsa

It was the final blow for Mike Gundy, his team losing to Tulsa in Stillwater for the first time since 1951. Gundy was fired the next week after 20-plus seasons coaching at his alma mater. There are several deserving candidates for this category, including Clemson losing 34-21 at home to Syracuse, Arkansas losing 56-13 at home to Notre Dame (costing Sam Pittman his job), Virginia Tech losing 45-26 at home to Old Dominion (costing Brent Pry his job), Oklahoma State losing 69-3 to Oregon on the road (yes, it’s been that kind of year for the Cowboys) and Army losing 30-27 in double overtime at home to FCS foe Tarleton State in the season opener.

Best buyout: TBD

Please don’t worry, more are coming. But so far, Gundy, Pittman, Pry and Foster will collect nearly $34 million in combined buyout money not to coach – and we’re just hitting October! Good thing none of these schools have any money.

Most surreal press conference: Bobby Petrino

The image of Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek and Petrino sitting at the podium Monday as Petrino was introduced as the Hogs’ interim coach for the rest of the season was something out of the Twilight Zone. Imagine snapping that picture and going back in time 12 years to show the photo to anyone remotely close to college football, particularly anyone in Arkansas. It couldn’t have been any messier than Petrino’s exit from Arkansas in 2012 after the whole motorcycle accident scandal, complete with the swollen face/neck brace press conference and all. However, Petrino is here with a chance to salvage the Hogs’ disappointing season and maybe even make a case for getting the permanent head job. He said his sole focus is on these next nine weeks and unifying the state. One way or the other, it’s going to be fascinating. Only in college football.

Best commercial: Consumer Cellular

For more than two decades, Gundy was Oklahoma State football. But before his firing last month, he provided one last memorable moment in the offseason when he taped a hilarious Consumer Cellular commercial re-creating his epic “I’m a man. I’m 40” rant from 18 years ago. Only in the commercial, Gundy is holding up a cellular bill instead of a newspaper and yells, “I’m a man? I’m not 40! I’m 58!” Hell of a ride for the face of the Pokes for two decades.