Highlights from first month of college football season
Saturday will mark the one-month anniversary of this college football season. Yes, time flies. It’s been as eventful and unpredictable as expected, from the quick plummet by many top-ranked teams — more on that below — through, on Sunday, LSU’s decision to fire longtime coach Les Miles.
Miles’ dismissal is the dominant story line of the season’s opening month, followed closely by Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson’s assault on the record books. Through four games, Jackson has accounted for as many as or more touchdowns than all but one team in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Fired Les Miles a victim of the Saban Effect
Come take a trip down memory lane. (Short-term memory lane.) What are the young season’s biggest surprises, biggest disappointments? Most overlooked teams or players? And what should we expect from the next month? A quick recap:
Biggest surprises
1. The Mid-American Conference West Division. It’s striking to see Northern Illinois sitting winless at the bottom of the division. Elsewhere, however, the remaining five teams are a combined 16-3 leading into conference play, led by unbeaten Western Michigan and Toledo.
2. Colorado. It hasn’t been easy, but Mike MacIntyre has the Buffaloes right in the mix for not just a bowl appearance but potentially a top-three finish in the Pac-12 Conference South Division.
3. Wisconsin. One of the most consistent programs in college football has been nearly spectacular through the first month. The Badgers’ strong start has served as a reminder of the program’s place in the Big Ten Conference pecking order.
Bowl projections: Louisville ahead of Clemson in Playoff as showdown looms
4. Wake Forest. In his third season, Dave Clawson has this program unbeaten through four games for the first time in a decade. This won’t last forever: Wake still has games against Louisville, Florida State and Clemson to come. But it’s clear that Clawson has the Demon Deacons headed in the right direction.
5. Memphis. The Tigers have maintained their recent climb under first-year coach Mike Norvell, most notably in this past weekend’s 77-3 destruction of Bowling Green. Memphis might be Houston’s greatest threat in the American Athletic Conference.
Biggest disappointments
1. Notre Dame. The Irish are 1-3, already have fired defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder and are removed completely from the national championship conversation.
2. Southern California. This year has been almost pitiful: USC is 1-3, with its lone win coming against Utah State. It gets worse if we go back to last season, unfortunately. The Trojans have lost five of six since Clay Helton was handed the full-time job.
3. LSU. The Tigers were plugged by many as a legitimate title contender. So much for that. A bygone offensive vision and poor in-game coaching doomed Miles and doomed LSU’s season before the calendar even turned to October.
4. Northern Illinois. Think USC is on a bad run? The Huskies have now lost seven games in a row, the program’s worst stretch since 1998. To put it another way, NIU has lost seven games in a single season just twice since 1999.
5. Oklahoma. The Sooners were ranked third in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll, viewed as the favorite in the Big 12 Conference and a very strong challenger for the national title. A conference title is still possible, but it’s hard to see two-loss OU back in the College Football Playoff field.
Most overlooked
1. San Diego State. The No. 24 Aztecs squeezed into this week’s Amway Coaches Poll, but SDSU remains way too far off the radar for most voters and fans.
2. West Virginia. One of just two Big 12 teams still unbeaten, joining Baylor, the Mountaineers own two respectable wins against Missouri and Brigham Young. It will get harder in October, but WVU should be a factor in the Big 12 race.
3. Michigan. Wait, Michigan? Yeah, Michigan. The No. 5 Wolverines are respected in the polls but seemingly overlooked when discussing the best teams in the country. That shouldn’t be the case.
Everyone talks about Michigan, but the football team is under the radar
4. Western Michigan. P.J. Fleck’s bunch have wins against two Big Ten Conference foes, Northwestern and Illinois, and are fresh off a very nice win against Sun Belt Conference favorite Georgia Southern. This has been the MAC’s best team through one month.
5. Texas A&M. It’s hard to say that any team from the Southeastern Conference is overlooked, but most remain in wait-and-see mode despite the Aggies’ wins against UCLA and Arkansas.
Heisman Trophy standings
1. Louisville QB Lamar Jackson. The best player in college football through four weeks.
2. Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey. Not too far behind for the title.
3. San Diego State RB Donnell Pumphrey. He’s averaging just shy of 200 rushing yards per game as the clear engine behind the Aztecs’ push for a New Year’s Six bowl.
4. Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes. The numbers have been simply incredible for Texas Tech’s talented junior quarterback.
5. Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett and Clemson QB Deshaun Watson (tie). Watson can leap up the ranks with a win on Saturday against Jackson and the Cardinals.
Heisman Survey: Lamar Jackson vs. Deshaun Watson duel could decide race
Coaches on the hot seat
1. Rod Carey, Northern Illinois. As noted, those seven losses in a row are shocking given the Huskies’ recent history of success.
2. Clay Helton, USC. One month ago, it would’ve been ridiculous to suggest that Helton would be under such pressure after four games. Yet here we are.
3. Tim DeRuyter, Fresno State. Each passing defeat makes it less and less likely that DeRuyter will return in 2017.
4. Darrell Hazell, Purdue. A win against Nevada was nice, but Hazell is still facing immense scrutiny leading into the start of Big Ten play.
5. Gus Malzahn, Auburn. He gained some leeway with Saturday’s win against LSU, but Malzahn must still deliver during SEC play to get off the hot seat.
Clemson offense hasn't hit potential as showdown with Louisville looms
Next month’s biggest games
1. Louisville at Clemson, Oct. 1. It’s the game of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference. (Until the fifth game on this list.)
2. Oklahoma at TCU, Oct. 1. Are the Sooners still the Big 12 favorite. Can TCU remain unbeaten in league play and make a run for the Playoff? Two key questions will be answered.
3. Alabama at Tennessee, Oct. 15. The longstanding rivalry, recently in Alabama’s favor, stands as a potential preview of the SEC title game in December.
4. Nebraska at Wisconsin, Oct. 29. This should decide the Big Ten West Division. And if both teams are still undefeated, the victor will likely join Ohio State and Michigan to give the league three perfect teams in the Playoff chase.
5. Clemson at Florida State, Oct. 29. It won’t be as meaningful if Clemson loses on Saturday, of course. But it’ll be one of the deciding games of the regular season if the Tigers are unbeaten at the end of October.
Playoff Projection will get a Playoff preview this week
The top four
1. Ohio State
2. Alabama
3. Louisville
4. Clemson
TOP 10 GAMES IN WEEK 5
