10 Best Plays from 1st Month of 2015 College Football Season

It's hard to believe that the first month of the college football season is about to be in the books.

As the calendar inches closer to October, now is a good time to look back on the incredible highlights that dominated the first four weeks of the 2015 college football season.

Fans were treated to one of the best spin moves ever utilized on a football field, a game-winning field goal from extremely long range, some massive touchdown runs that included plenty of broken tackles and quite a number of game-winning touchdown passes in the final moments of big games.

Here's a countdown of the 10 best college football plays from September. Everyone has their own unique criteria for picking the best of the best, but this list is weighted more toward the big plays that either won or drastically changed games. The more dramatic the play, the better the result on here.

Of course, that leaves plenty of room for debate and lots of noteworthy omissions from what was an exciting first few weeks of the season. Tell us your favorite plays in the comments below.

Honorable Mention

Kansas State WR Kody Cook's circus TD catch vs. Louisiana Tech: Cook would later have the game-winner over Louisiana Tech in the third overtime, but his game-tying reception in the third quarter of that game is a legitimate Catch of the Year candidate.

LSU RB Leonard Fournette's multiple runs vs. Auburn: Fournette is currently having one of the best starts to a season for any FBS running back in the last 15 years, and his highlight-reel runs against Auburn, shown above, instantly turned him into a top Heisman candidate.

Marshall DB Tiquan Lang's pick-sixes vs. Purdue: Lang started Marshall's season opener with a pick-six, and he sealed the victory over Big Ten foe Purdue with a longer defensive score in the fourth quarter. Last year, only 11 players scored a pair of pick-sixes for the entire season—but Lang accomplished the feat in just one contest.

Oklahoma WR Sterling Shepard's two late TDs vs. Tennessee: Shepard caught a beautiful fade pass late in the fourth quarter to tie things up against the Volunteers. In double overtime, he scored the game-winner with a tremendous balancing act down the sideline.

Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett's strip sack vs. Arkansas: Texas A&M couldn't take full advantage of this play as it missed a potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation, but Garrett showed why he's the most feared pass-rusher in the country with a clutch strip sack in a tie game.

10. Michigan RB De'Veon Smith's TD Run vs. BYU

With names such as Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, C.J. Prosise and Nick Chubb racking up huge numbers, the first month of the college football season has some believing this could be the year a running back breaks the quarterbacks' streak of Heisman dominance.

But all those contenders haven't had a run quite like the one Michigan running back De'Veon Smith had last weekend against BYU.

On a 2nd-and-short situation, Smith appeared to run into a wall of BYU defenders and get stopped for a minimal gain. However, the Michigan back slipped through the other side of the pile and broke away into the open field.

He then shook off a pair of tackle attempts from another Cougars defender before marching his way into the end zone from 60 yards out. 

Smith just refused to go down on this run, and the Wolverines used it to nail down a 31-0 rout of BYU in the Big House—one that pushed Jim Harbaugh's team into the Top 25 for the upcoming week.

9. Penn State DT Austin Johnson's Scoop and Score

The 2015 college football season might be the year of the "Big Man Touchdown." SB Nation even created an award to honor the nation's best lineman doing non-lineman things—like finding the end zone.

In Week 4, Penn State defensive tackle Austin Johnson came through with a huge touchdown in a crucial moment for his Nittany Lions.

With San Diego State driving for a potential go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, Penn State stripped the ball away from the Aztecs quarterback. The 323-pound Johnson was there to collect the ball and promptly take it 74 yards for the touchdown.

"I scoop it up and I see I have to out-run one man, and I start cruising from there," Johnson said afterward, per C.J. Doon of PennLive.com. "While I was running, I was thinking to myself: 'Oh my goodness. It's about to go down.'"

Seventy-four yards is a long way to run for anyone, especially a massive defensive tackle like Johnson, who said he was "gasping for air" after the touchdown. That's a big man making a big play in a big situation.

8. Michigan State WR Aaron Burbridge's TD Catch vs. Air Force

Michigan State wide receiver Aaron Burbridge had a monstrous game in Week 3 against Air Force, catching eight passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns. 

His best reception of the day gave Michigan State a two-score lead over Air Force. Quarterback Connor Cook lofted a pass near the end zone, and Burbridge somehow was able to dive and contort his body around the pylon for the incredible score.

After the game, though, Burbridge downplayed his "Catch of the Year" candidate.

"I don't think it was too spectacular," Burbridge said, per Kyle Austin of MLive.com. "I had to make the play, I went up for it. It landed in my hand."

While the Spartan receiver might not have thought it was spectacular, it definitely looked that way to the rest of the country.

7. Ohio State WR Braxton Miller's Spin Move vs. Virginia Tech

It was the play almost everyone was talking about after Ohio State's Labor Day victory over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg—the spin move.

Braxton Miller, a former two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year at quarterback, was playing in his first game for Ohio State at wide receiver after missing all of the Buckeyes' national championship run due to injury.

He showcased the incredible athleticism that made him such an outstanding dual-threat quarterback on a late third-quarter play in which he took the snap, turned upfield and unleashed a devastating spin move that triggered a 53-yard touchdown run.

Miller's highlight-reel touchdown run opened up a two-score lead for Ohio State, which had previously trailed Virginia Tech in its season opener. The Buckeyes would go on to win 42-24 and avenge their 2014 loss to the Hokies.

But even with the revenge narrative and the quarterback controversy between Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett, it seemed like the main talking point after that game was Miller's spin. It was that good.

6. Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly's Deflected TD Pass to Quincy Adeboyejo vs. Alabama

Sometimes you need the ball to bounce your way in order to knock off a great team.

Ole Miss—a powerful national title contender in its own right—got that in Week 3 against Alabama.

The Rebels were up by a touchdown early in the third quarter when quarterback Chad Kelly bobbled a high snap and tossed a desperation pass toward star receiver Laquon Treadwell.

The ball was deflected away from Treadwell, off of an Alabama defender's helmet and right into the path of a streaking Quincy Adeboyejo, who then scored from 66 yards out.

While there was plenty of scoring left in the wild matchup between the Rebels and the Crimson Tide, it's worth noting that Ole Miss won that game by just six points—and Hugh Freeze's team scored off one of the most improbable deflections you'll ever see.

5. Florida QB Will Grier's TD Pass to Antonio Callaway vs. Tennessee

Down by six to rival Tennessee with less than two minutes remaining last Saturday, Florida quarterback Will Grier needed at least 14 yards on fourth down to keep his Gators alive. If he threw a third straight incompletion, it was over.

Instead, his pass to Antonio Callaway gained 63 yards and a memorable late touchdown that gave Florida a stunning comeback victory.

Callaway took a deep curl route and cut toward the sideline, getting a key block from Brandon Powell that helped him beat the rest of the Tennessee defense to the end zone.

The ensuing PAT gave Florida the lead, and Florida held on after the Volunteers missed a last-second field-goal attempt from 55 yards out.

The late touchdown pass from Grier to Callaway gave Florida its 11th straight win over Tennessee, which entered the season ranked and a trendy contender in the SEC East. Now the Gators are sporting an undefeated record and a No. 25 ranking heading into Week 5.

4. Iowa K Marshall Koehn's 57-Yard, Game-Winning FG

A top-play list like this one is undoubtedly going to be dominated by offensive spectacles. But what about some love for the special teams?

After Pittsburgh star wide receiver Tyler Boyd scored a touchdown with less than a minute remaining to tie the Panthers' game against Iowa at 24, Iowa's offense gave specialist Marshall Koehn a chance to win the game from 57 yards out.

Koehn's initial attempt missed, but Pittsburgh had called a timeout prior to the snap.

The icing attempt didn't work. With his second try, Koehn drilled the longest field goal of the 2015 season so far and gave the Hawkeyes the victory.

A game-winning field goal as time expires is always a strong candidate for top plays of a week, but Koehn gets a huge boost into this monthly countdown because he did it from a distance no one else has scored from this season. Talk about power under pressure.

3. Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer's Game-Winning TD vs. Virginia

After blowing a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and losing starting quarterback Malik Zaire for the rest of the season with a fractured ankle, Notre Dame needed something big in the dying moments of its Week 2 road game at Virginia.

Zaire's replacement, the 6'4.5" and 230-pound DeShone Kizer, stepped up and delivered that big-time play for the Fighting Irish.

Trailing by one point with less than 20 seconds left on the clock, Kizer fired a deep ball to star wide receiver Will Fuller, who made the catch in stride for a game-winning 40-yard touchdown pass. Kizer then sprinted down the field in celebration.

"I didn't even know how goofy I looked [running downfield in celebration] until I saw the pictures and the video afterward," Kizer told Bleacher Report's Greg Couch. "I know I wanted to go celebrate with him and got down there as fast as I possibly could and ended up doing like a little soccer slide into the end zone."

Because of Kizer's last-minute pass to Fuller, the Irish were able to stay unbeaten in the early season and then go on to knock off Georgia Tech in Week 3. Now Notre Dame is No. 6 in the country heading into a huge road matchup at No. 12 Clemson.

2. TCU QB Trevone Boykin's Deflected TD Pass to RB Aaron Green vs. Texas Tech

No. 3 TCU found itself in the middle of a classic offensive shootout last weekend at in-state rival Texas Tech, and the Horned Frogs pulled out a dramatic victory over the Red Raiders with their last bullet.

Down by four points to Texas Tech and facing 4th-and-goal from the 4-yard line, TCU star quarterback Trevone Boykin fired a pass to standout receiver Josh Doctson in the end zone.

The pass was too high for Doctson, but his deflection allowed running back Aaron Green to make a lunging grab while somehow staying in bounds.

"They always preach follow the ball. You never know," Green said on his catch, per Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News. "I did what I was told. I followed the ball the whole way and caught it."

Texas Tech did an incredible job on its multiple-lateral final play to get all the way down to the TCU 10-yard line, but the Horned Frogs made the stop, preserving the wild victory off of Green's last-second heroics.

1A and 1B. BYU QB Tanner Mangum's Game-Winning TDs vs. Nebraska and Boise State

One of the first games of the season's first Saturday gave us the best play of the month—BYU backup quarterback Tanner Mangum's 42-yard touchdown pass that beat Nebraska in Memorial Stadium.

The freshman Mangum came off the bench early in the fourth quarter to replace BYU star Taysom Hill, who suffered what would turn out to be another season-ending injury. On the final drive of the game, he led the BYU offense down to the Nebraska 42 with just one second remaining.

Mangum then lofted a pass all the way down to the goal line, where teammate Mitch Mathews came down with the stunning reception to end Nebraska's 29-game winning streak in season openers.

"I rolled out and threw it. It wasn't my best ball," Mangum said afterward, per ESPN.com. "Came out a little wobbly. But I was just glad it got there. Mitch made a heck of a catch and was able to fall in for the score."

Mangum became an instant sensation with the game-winning pass—and then he did something similar the very next week, scoring on a fourth-down heave in the final minute of a win over Boise State. "Mangum Magic" took over the college football world in Weeks 1 and 2, and it takes the top spot in this countdown.

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.