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College Football's Best and Worst of October: Teams, players, coaches, power plays and more

Screenshot 2025-08-29 at 11.28.07 AMby: Chris Low7 hours agoclowfb
October Superlatives AFI

Until further notice, we’ll refer to October this college football season as the “Buyout Month” or the month that illustrates how gullible and shortsighted athletic directors and presidents can be when signing some of these coach contracts.

It’s akin to a rapper or celebrity “making it rain” in some lavish club. In other words, throwing money away just because you’ve got it … or maybe because you’re a bit impaired.

The action hasn’t all been off the field this month. There’s been some captivating football played, and yes, some head-scratching moments to go with it. Similar to what we did in September, we at On3 take a look at the best (and worst) players, plays, coaches, teams, games, moments and a little bit of everything else in October.

Here goes, and bonus points for whoever has the most creative way to spend some of this buyout money — already up to a whopping $168 million before we get to November. Yikes!

Best team: Alabama

All that needs to be said is that Alabama became the first team in SEC history to win four games against four nationally ranked teams in four consecutive weeks without a bye. Three of those came this month against No. 16 Vanderbilt, No. 14 Missouri and No. 11 Tennessee, which begs the question: How in the hell did Alabama lose to Florida State?

Best player: Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed

Tough call here between Reed and Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, but Reed just continues to get better. In leading Texas A&M to an 8-0 record and No. 3 ranking, Reed accounted for 12 touchdowns in October, including at least three touchdowns in three of the Aggies’ four games. He passed for two touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns in the 49-25 rout of LSU last week, Texas A&M’s first win in Tiger Stadium since 1994. “We have a ton of confidence in him and where he’s going,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said.

Best coach: Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea

In fairness, the entire Vanderbilt coaching staff should share this award. The No. 9 Commodores (yep, that’s not a misprint) played three ranked teams in October and beat two of them. Their only loss was at No. 10 Alabama in a hard-fought, physical game that could have been much closer had Diego Pavia not turned it over twice in the red zone. The mere fact that Vanderbilt is legitimately in the playoff race heading into November is grounds for Lea and his assistants to be up for Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Now, we’re going to find out if the Commodores can finish this year stronger than they did a year ago, when they lost four of their last five regular-season games. We start to get answers on Saturday at Texas.

Best coach nobody’s talking about: Kennesaw State’s Jerry Mack

Mack’s first coaching job was as a graduate assistant with Delta State in 2004. He didn’t coach in the Power 4 ranks until joining Josh Heupel at Tennessee as running backs coach in 2021. Now, in his first season at Kennesaw State, Mack has the Owls bowl-eligible (6-2) and 4-0 in Conference USA play in the school’s first full FBS season after a transition season a year ago from the FCS ranks. Kennesaw State didn’t even start playing football until 2015. Not to get sideways with the fine folks at Kennesaw State, but all these athletic directors tasked with filling the rapidly growing list of prime jobs might want to give Mack a call. The guy can coach.

Best win: Indiana 30, Oregon 20

Oregon had won 18 straight games at Autzen Stadium, most of those by double digits. But Indiana never blinked in its Oct. 11 trip to Eugene and physically manhandled the Ducks. The Hoosiers sacked Oregon quarterback Dante Moore six times, outgained Oregon 104 to 15 yards in the fourth quarter and held the Ducks to one offensive touchdown. The Hoosiers had lost 46 straight games to top-5 opponents before sending the Ducks paddling.

Best game: BYU 33, Arizona 27, 2OT

When a team is unbeaten this deep in the season, somewhere along the way, it has to survive a scare on the road. That’s exactly what BYU (8-0) did in fighting back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and a lengthy rain delay to force overtime on Bear Bachmeier’s 2-yard touchdown run with 19 seconds remaining. On that same drive, the Cougars flirted with disaster. Bachmeier fumbled on third down, but his offensive guard, Kyle Sfarcioc, wrestled the ball away at the bottom of a scrum at the Arizona 4 for a first down with 42 seconds left. After trading field goals in the first overtime – a 45-yarder by BYU’s Will Ferrin – Bachmeier scored on a quarterback keeper on BYU’s possession in the second overtime. Arizona wasn’t done. Noah Fifita lofted a fourth-down pass possession in the second overtime, but it bounced off the hands of Javin Whatley.

Best play: Ty Simpson’s razzle dazzle

Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has dialed up some nifty ball plays, as the Head Ball Coach liked to call them, but the two-pointer to tie the game against South Carolina was as good as it gets. Imagine drawing up plays in the backyard as a kid. This one was the epitome of backyard football. Simpson shifted over in the backfield, and running back Daniel Hill took the direct snap. Hill handed the ball off to Simpson on a sweep to the right side. Simpson faked a reverse to Ryan Williams and then hit tight end Josh Cuevas in the end zone.

Best story: Virginia

The Cavaliers have risen to No. 15 in the AP poll and won six straight games, including a pair of overtime wins on the road in October. Three of their wins this season have gone past regulation, one of those a double-overtime win against Florida State on Sept. 26. If anybody deserves this kind of success, it’s Tony Elliott and the entire Virginia football program after the heartbreaking tragedy in 2022 when three Virginia football players were shot and killed and two others injured while returning to campus from a class field trip to Washington, D.C. The Cavs are looking for their first winning season since 2019. It’s hard not to root for them.

Best transfer: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza

We’ve seen transfer quarterbacks make huge differences, even before the portal was a thing. It turned out pretty well for Joe Burrow and LSU in 2019. Mendoza is also playing at a Heisman-like level for the No. 2 Hoosiers, who are averaging 45.4 points per game. He threw eight touchdown passes in three October games and completed 72.8 percent of his passes. His coach thinks the best is yet to come. “He continues to improve. He continues to prepare like nobody I’ve ever been around, and he’s getting better and better,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said

Best life: Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin

What to be Lane Kiffin right now? His Rebels are 7-1 and ranked No. 7 nationally. He’s also in the catbird seat of all catbird seats. Ole Miss is prepared to offer him an extension to be one of the highest-paid coaches in college football, and Kiffin has already shown that you can indeed win big at Ole Miss and that the university is serious about continuing to win at that level. And, oh yeah, he’s at the top of the wish lists at two of the historically premier jobs in America. Florida and LSU both opened this month, and any coach would have to listen if either of those schools came calling – and Kiffin will. To be clear, Ole Miss fans, nobody said he’s leaving. But listening? Yes.

Best power play: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry

When politics and football mix, that’s when it really gets entertaining. Landry, upset over the $54 million LSU owes to fired head coach Brian Kelly, took aim this week at now former LSU athletic director Scott Woodward, who signed Kelly to the 10-year, $95 million deal. Landry said candidly that Woodward would not be the one hiring the Tigers’ next coach and didn’t stop there in explaining that the LSU Board of Supervisors would form a committee to make the hire. “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select it before I let (Woodward) do it,” said Landry, a Republican. When the political smoke had cleared, Woodward was no longer the AD, and where the Tigers go from here is anybody’s guess. Fun times on the Bayou.

Best defender: Auburn LB Xavier Atkins

New to the Plains, Atkins has blossomed this season from his inside linebacker spot. He had 33 total tackles in three October games, including a career-high 13 in the 33-24 win at Arkansas last week. Atkins has four sacks in his last two games and leads the SEC with 13 tackles for loss. He has four quarterback hurries this month and also forced a fumble in the win over Arkansas. In his September finale, Atkins intercepted a pass and returned it 73 yards, setting up Auburn’s only touchdown in a 16-10 loss at Texas A&M. A change of scenery has been just what Atkins needed after a limited role last season at LSU as a true freshman.

Best offensive lineman: Ohio State OT Austin Siereveld

There are a couple of deserving candidates on an Ohio State offensive line that has mauled opposing defenses. The nod goes to Siereveld, who played both guard spots last season as a part-time starter. This season, he’s emerged as the best left tackle in the country. The 6-5, 325-pound junior has yet to give up a sack and has allowed just five pressures on quarterback Julian Sayin. Siereveld had a good teacher. He moved into a starting role at guard last season when Donovan Jackson moved to left tackle on his way to All-America honors and being selected in the first round of the NFL draft.

Best true freshman: Pittsburgh QB Mason Heintschel

If you’re asking who and trying to pronounce the last name, you won’t be for much longer. Heintschel has been fantastic after taking over as Pitt’s starter on Oct. 4 and leading the Panthers to a 4-0 record this month. He became the first ACC freshman in 30 years to pass for more than 400 yards and three touchdowns last week in a 53-34 win over N.C. State. Heintschel threw nine touchdown passes in four October games and surpassed the 300-yard passing mark in three of those games. Not bad for a lightly regarded recruit from Oregon, Ohio, who picked Pitt (his only Power 4 offer) over Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, Liberty, Toledo, Kent State, Akron and Ohio University.

Best kick: Tyler Hwang

By day, Hwang is a chemical engineering student at Vanderbilt. But he might be getting a few calls from college coaches after drilling his 33-yard kick in Pat McAfee’s kicking contest during ESPN’s GameDay appearance at Vanderbilt and pocketing a $500,000 prize. Hwang, wearing a Diego Pavia No. 2 jersey, played soccer in high school and also kicked on the football team at his Massachusetts high school. He said he’s made field goals from as far away as 53 yards – but none more financially rewarding than the one with the college football world tuned in and watching last Saturday.

Biggest surprise: Cincinnati

Scott Satterfield’s name was showing up on hotseat lists when this season began. Now, he’s got one of the hottest teams in the country. The No. 17 Bearcats have won seven straight games after a season-opening loss to Nebraska. Cincinnati ended last season on a five-game losing streak and was just 4-14 in Big 12 games in two seasons under Satterfield. Nobody outside the Cincinnati locker room expected much of anything from this team. The Bearcats didn’t receive a single vote in the AP preseason Top 25 poll, as if preseason polls matter. Cincinnati averaged 37 points per game in its four October wins and faces one of its toughest tests of the season this Saturday at No. 24 Utah.

Biggest upset: Louisville 24, Miami 21

The Cardinals won at No. 2 Miami, snapping the Hurricanes’ 10-game home winning streak. Louisville jumped out to a 14-0 lead and then held on. TJ Capers sealed it for the Cardinals when he intercepted Carson Beck, his fourth pick of the game, to thwart a Miami drive with 32 seconds left. Louisville was 0-18 against top-10 teams in true road games before the upset. Louisville coach Jeff Brohm has become a giant killer. He’s 4-2 in his career against top-5 teams, three of those wins coming when he was a double-digit underdog.

Biggest disappointment: Penn State

The Nittany Lions went 0-for-October, including two losses to double-digit underdogs, UCLA and Northwestern, leading to the firing of James Franklin. Good luck in finding a worse month for any team in the past few seasons. Penn State was No. 2 nationally to start the season after coming agonizingly close to playing for the national championship a year ago. Now, with Franklin making $49 million not to coach, Penn State finds itself marred in a four-game losing streak with No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana on the docket the next two weeks.

Biggest snub: Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar

Where is Aguilar on all these Heisman Watch lists? Maybe he’s not one of the favorites to win it, but he’s having a great season and leads the SEC in nearly every statistical category for quarterbacks. Granted, stats aren’t everything, but Aguilar has been the heartbeat of a Tennessee offense ranked second nationally in scoring offense (45.6 points per game). Let’s not forget that he didn’t get to campus until late May and had about three months to work with his receivers after Tennessee and UCLA swapped quarterbacks. Something says the Vols would make that trade again … and again.

Worst loss: Florida State’s 20-13 loss to Stanford

The Seminoles fell to 0-4 in the ACC after losing as a 17.5-point favorite, triggering major unrest on campus and leaving Mike Norvell’s coaching tenure at FSU in serious peril. The Seminoles are 2-14 in their last 16 games against Power 4 opponents, and, remarkably, one of those wins came against a two-touchdown favorite Alabama to open the season. Maybe it’s the curse of being left out of the playoff in 2023 despite going 13-0 and winning the ACC title. Curses are silly, but there’s no debating that it’s never been the same in Tallahassee since Alabama’s name showed up on that fourth and final playoff spot on Dec. 3, 2023.

Worst drought: Wisconsin

The Badgers, who’ve lost six straight games, went 11 consecutive quarters in October without scoring a point and went 14 straight quarters without scoring a touchdown until scoring in the fourth quarter last week in a 21-7 loss to Oregon. Wisconsin has scored just four offensive touchdowns in its last six games, and three of those came in the fourth quarter with the outcome all but decided. With Halloween upon us, it’s almost as if the Badgers have become zombified on offense.

Worst call: Jackson Arnold’s non-touchdown

Brace yourself, Auburn fans. Unfortunately, you’re on the wrong side of this category for the second straight month. Quarterback Jackson Arnold clearly crossed the goal line with the nose of the football on a third-and-goal play from the one late in the second quarter, a touchdown that would have given Auburn a 17-0 lead over Georgia. The ball was punched out of Arnold’s hands and recovered by Georgia. Replays showed the ball breaking the plane of the goal line, but replay officials ruled there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the call. Georgia kicked a field goal before halftime to complete a 10-point swing and went on to win 20-10. The fallout included the suspension of longtime referee Ken Williamson, the crew chief in the game, by the SEC for the rest of the season.

Worst quote: North Carolina coach Bill Belichick

Belichick, never known for being a quote machine, managed to get in a Trump “fake news” reference when shooting down some of the earlier reports that he might be on his way out at North Carolina. Ever since those reports surfaced, the Tar Heels (2-5) have played their best football and nearly pulled off wins in each of the past two weeks against Virginia and Cal. “I’m sure there’s a lot of other people out there that want to get clicks and views and posts on my face or whatever, but it’s just a bunch of garbage,” Belichick said. On to Syracuse.