Forde-Yard Dash: The Best, Worst and Weirdest of College Football in September

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where having nine men on the field in a goal-line situation can get a defensive coordinator fired. First Quarter: The Day the Big Ten Turned Upside Down.

Second Quarter: September Superlatives

Wow, that was fast. We’re already headed to October, with most teams one-third of the way through the regular season. It’s time for a Dash review of what has occurred, and a Third Quarter preview of what’s to come.

Team of the Month

Texas (11)

The Longhorns are ranked No. 1 and have two victories over ranked opponents, beating No. 5 Ohio State in what has been the Game of the Year to date and No. 17 Tennessee on the road. Against the Buckeyes, Texas led for only the final 25 seconds. Against the Volunteers, Texas never trailed.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning and the Longhorns are the No. 1 team and have already beat two ranked opponents. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Team of the Month in the ACC

Miami

The Hurricanes have been dominant to date, leading the nation in yards per game (588.8) and per play (8.53). Miami already has two ACC road wins under its belt.

Team of the Month in the Big 12

Utah

The Utes have roared out of the gates, admittedly against light competition. Their smallest margin of victory is 14 points, and they have led every game by at least 21 at halftime.

Team of the Month in the Big Ten

Iowa

The Hawkeyes (4–0) have played two power-conference opponents and have a combined winning margin of four points in those games. But they’re doing Ferentzian things like leading the nation in scoring defense (eight points allowed per game).

Team of the Month in the Group of 6

Boise State

The Broncos have solidified that status with authoritative victories over Memphis (at home) and Western Michigan (on the road).

September Heisman

Jeremiah Smith (12), Ohio State

There is a long way to go and a number of tough defenses to face, but Smith’s current 154.3 receiving yards per game is on pace to be the most in the 21st century. His career highs of 12 catches, 217 yards and four touchdowns against Illinois on Saturday were a portrait of supreme talent who is simply far better than almost everyone trying to defend him.

Player of the Month in the ACC

Darian Mensah, Miami

The national leader in pass efficiency (228.24) still has more touchdowns (14) than incompletions (12) on the season.

Player of the Month in the Big 12

Austin Romaine, Texas Tech

The linebacker had pick-sixes on successive plays Saturday against Sam Houston and is second on the Red Raiders in total tackles with 26. At a school that keeps producing playmaking linebackers, he’s the latest.

Player of the Month in the SEC

Jadan Baugh, Florida

He’s second nationally in rushing at 150 yards per game and first in rushing touchdowns at 11. In two SEC games, Baugh has 55 carries for 304 yards.

Player of the Month in the Group of 6

Jesse Legree, Oregon State

The freshman wide receiver has played four collegiate games and recorded 100 or more receiving yards in each of them. He went for 240 and two touchdowns against Texas Tech.

Coach of the Month

Jon Sumrall (13), Florida

The Gators are 4–0 for the first time since 2019 and own the most impressive league win in the SEC to date, after trampling Mississippi in The Swamp on Saturday. The 52-point explosion on the Rebels followed hanging 44 on Auburn on the road. The last time Florida scored more than 40 points in its first two SEC games was Steve Spurrier’s last season at the school, in 2001.

Coach of the Month in the ACC

Manny Diaz, Duke

After losing Mensah at the last minute last winter, Diaz has refashioned the Blue Devils as a ground-and-pound outfit. They’re off to a 4–0 start and leading the ACC in rushing offense.

Coach of the Month in the Big 12

Morgan Scalley, Utah

His Utes lead the league in yards allowed per play (3.92) and points allowed per game (10.3).

Coach of the Month in the Big Ten

Bob Chesney, UCLA

The Bruins have become punishers overnight in their first season under Chesney, winning every game by at least two touchdowns. They lead the nation in yards per rush at 6.95 and rushing touchdowns with 18, as Chesney has remade the program’s identity.

UCLA coach Bob Chesney has the Bruins at 4–0. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Coach of the Month in the Group of 6

Joe Harasymiak, Massachusetts

He went 0–12 last year in his first season. What if he goes 12–0 this year? What if???

Dud of the Month

Texas A&M (14)

Every year a preseason top-10 team plummets from contention, and the Aggies (2–2) wasted no time applying for the role. They lost at home to Kentucky by 10 and then were dominated at LSU, 35–6. The Tigers outgained A&M by more than 300 yards.

Dud of the Month in the ACC

Georgia Tech

Things look different without offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and quarterback Haynes King. The Yellow Jackets are 1–3 and winless against FBS competition after opening with a loss to Colorado and most recently losing at Stanford.

Dud of the Month in the Big 12

TCU

In two games against FBS competition, the Horned Frogs are 0–2 and averaging 11.5 points.

Dud of the Month in the Big Ten

Rutgers

It’s not as if great things were expected, but being routed by UMass to start the season was a new low under Greg Schiano. After getting their first win of the season against an FCS opponent last week, the Scarlet Knights can now set their sights on trying to win a Big Ten game. Any Big Ten game.

Dud of the Month in the Group of 6

Navy

The preseason American Conference favorite is 1–2 overall, 0–2 in the league and winless against FBS competition. The Midshipmen are dealing with an injury to starting quarterback Braxton Woodson, but early losses to Florida Atlantic and UAB were not expected.

Dramatic Venue of the Month

Michigan Stadium (15)

From the final second that was found to facilitate a Bail Mary bomb to beat Western Michigan to Iowa’s walk-off TD pass, the Big House was the thrill capital of September.

Persistent Troublemaker of the Month

LSU (16)

Lane Kiffin is a provocateur wherever he coaches. When combined with a rogue athletic department operating at the whims of the governor of the state, things got extra weird—to the point where the SEC contemplated booting the Tigers out of the conference. And just when you thought that tension was dying down, the Louisiana attorney general stirred it back up. Stay tuned.

Inexplicable Result of the Month

Tulsa 24, Oklahoma State 10 (17)

The Golden Hurricane surprisingly handled the Cowboys in the season opener, and everything that has transpired since then makes it all the more perplexing. Oklahoma State went on to shock Oregon and defeat West Virginia on the road. Tulsa started 3–0 but was just blasted by Arkansas, which had previously been blasted by Utah and Georgia and whose fans have been boycotting games.

Inexplicable Play of the Month

The CJ Bailey end zone fumble (18) that turned certain victory into incomprehensible defeat for North Carolina State at Vanderbilt. Just take a knee, CJ.

What. Just. Happened?!?!

Vanderbilt forces the fumble in the waning seconds and recovers it in the end zone! 😱 pic.twitter.com/lzlKPRVsru
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 19, 2026

Worst September Development

The FCS mismatches (19). Games between FBS and FCS teams are rarely compelling and competitive, but this season at the power-conference level it has been downright ghastly and gross.

The overall FBS vs. FCS record to date is 111–6, a perfect 50–0 at the power-conference level. That includes 32 beatings of 40 points or more at the P4 level and 22 at the G6 level. There have been massacres of 87–3, 80–6, 84–0, 77–7, 73–0, 73–3 and 77–6.

FCS teams are obviously in it for the money, needing the six-figure and seven-figure guarantee payments that come with these beatdowns to fund their programs. But at some point the embarrassment and physical domination take a toll, too. And for the FBS programs expecting their fans to pay for tickets, parking and concessions for home games, this is not an enjoyable product to watch.

Weird Stat of the Month

Almost no overtimes (20). There have been just five OT games so far, and only one between power-conference teams: Air Force–Nevada, Wake Forest–Purdue, Ohio–Jacksonville State, Citadel–Charlotte and Temple–Toledo. This could change, but we are on pace for far fewer than usual. Over the previous five years, FBS has averaged 39 OT games per season. There were 45 last year.

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