College Football Winners and Losers from September
As September fades into October, we’ve officially finished the first month of the college football season. All of the speculation and hype surrounding the 2015 season has turned into a month’s worth of evaluation, with all teams playing at least three games (and most four), giving their fans multiple chances to evaluate them.
There have been surprises and disappointments, just as there are every season. Those glossy preseason magazines that flew off the stands at $7.99 a pop in June and July look more dated by the day as teams evolve and improve.
Let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from the first month. These are teams that either exceeded or failed to meet expectations during September.
While there’s plenty of time left to turn around a struggling season or lose the positive vibes carried into October, these winners and losers begin the second month of the season on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Arkansas
1 of 10
Bret Bielema isn’t afraid to express his opinions, for better or worse. These days, many Arkansas fans have opinions about Bielema’s work with the Razorbacks, and right now, they aren’t very positive.
The Hogs hoped to build on an impressive finish to the 2014 season that saw them squeak out a 7-6 record, including a Texas Bowl rout of former Southwest Conference rival Texas.
That hasn’t happened. At all. Arkansas begins October at 1-3 and facing an uphill climb just to get to postseason play, much less make noise in the SEC West.
Following a season-opening rout of UTEP, the Hogs have fallen apart. Toledo went into Little Rock and dealt Bielema’s bunch a 16-12 stunner. Life got no easier from there, with a 35-24 loss to Texas Tech and a 28-21 overtime loss to Texas A&M punctuating the slide. With a road trip to Tennessee and Alabama next on the docket, matters could get uglier before they improve.
Arkansas is averaging only 186.2 rushing yards per game, No. 60 nationally, and the offense misses 1,190-yard rusher Jonathan Williams, who’ll miss the season with a foot injury. Backfield partner Alex Collins has 502 rushing yards and four touchdowns, but the offense has leaned more heavily on quarterback Brandon Allen, who has 1,141 passing yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions.
That’s not such a good thing. What was supposed to be a year of hope looks more like a step back in Fayetteville.
Auburn
2 of 10
Following a disappointing 8-5 season in 2014, Auburn hoped that adding new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and turning the offensive reins over to new starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson would deliver an SEC West turnaround. It has done anything but that.
The Tigers are 2-2 and have been the biggest bust in college football through one month. Auburn barely survived FCS foe Jacksonville State in overtime, 27-20, and lost SEC games to LSU and Mississippi State by a combined score of 62-30.
Johnson was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate in preseason but lost his job to Sean White after throwing for 473 yards with five touchdowns against six interceptions.
While the loss of talented pass-rusher Carl Lawson to a hip injury hurts, it’s clear that Muschamp’s defense needs more talent to compete in the SEC. Auburn is allowing 413.5 yards per game, No. 87 nationally, and 26.5 points per game, No. 76 nationally.
In other words, there’s plenty of blame to go around in Auburn. This simply isn’t an SEC West contender right now.
LSU
3 of 10
2015 didn’t exactly get off to an auspicious start for LSU; its season opener against McNeese State was washed out by severe storms. That’s about the only thing that’s gone wrong for Les Miles’ bunch, however. The Tigers are 3-0 and well on their way to proving that 2014’s 8-5 record was a true aberration.
LSU is a strong contender for the SEC championship and, more importantly, a College Football Playoff berth. Sophomore tailback Leonard Fournette has taken the leap from good to great. Saturday’s 244-yard effort at Syracuse was his second consecutive 200-yard rushing game and fifth consecutive game with at least 140 rushing yards dating back to the end of last season. He has 631 yards and eight touchdowns and is very difficult to stop.
Sophomore Brandon Harris supplanted inconsistent Anthony Jennings and has been solid, throwing for 302 yards with two touchdowns, completing 61.7 percent of his passes. Meanwhile, LSU has a top-25-overall defense under new coordinator Kevin Steele, yielding 306.3 yards per game.
If the Tigers offense can become more versatile, they'll be true contenders and one of the nation’s top overall teams.
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Michigan
4 of 10
Conventional wisdom said it would take Jim Harbaugh some time to turn around a moribund Michigan roster that finished 5-7 in Brady Hoke’s first season, and a sluggish 24-17 season-opening loss to Utah only seemed to confirm those convictions.
However, a look at the first month of the season suggests those thoughts might have been off-base. Since losing at Utah, the Wolverines have outscored their next three foes by a total of 94-14. A 31-0 blanking of BYU was the Cougars’ first shutout defeat since 2003.
Michigan has found a balanced offense, averaging 202 yards rushing per game and 194 yards passing. Iowa transfer Jake Rudock has four touchdowns against five interceptions but is settling into his role as a “game manager” in the Wolverines offense. Suddenly, a bowl bid appears far more likely, and it’s possible that Harbaugh and Co. could play spoiler to Big Ten East rivals Michigan State and Ohio State.
Maybe they aren’t so far away after all.
Ole Miss
5 of 10
Did you think Ole Miss might be a one-year wonder following a nine-win season and Peach Bowl appearance in 2014? Think again. The first month of 2015 has shown that Hugh Freeze’s crew has serious staying power in the SEC West, and perhaps beyond.
The Rebels returned 16 starters from 2014 and have only built on that success. Ole Miss averages 55 points per game, No. 2 nationally, and has an opportunistic defense which has forced 10 turnovers in four games.
While graduated quarterback Bo Wallace brought experience, new starter Chad Kelly, who came to Oxford from Clemson via East Mississippi Community College, has been an offensive spark. He has 1,219 passing yards and 10 touchdowns against three interceptions throwing to a deep receiver corps keyed by Laquon Treadwell (22 receptions, 322 yards, one touchdown).
Junior defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche is regarded by ESPN’s Mel Kiper as the No. 1 pick of the 2016 NFL draft and even has a rushing and receiving touchdown this fall.
The Rebels have challenges (like this week at Florida, Oct. 17 at Memphis and Oct. 24 vs. Texas A&M, as well as Nov. 21 vs. LSU) but if they play like they did in a 43-37 win at then-No. 2 Alabama, they’ll be College Football Playoff contenders to the very end.
Oregon
6 of 10
Despite the loss of Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota to the NFL draft, few expected Oregon to slip much in 2015. The Ducks were a consensus top-10 team and were expected to strongly contend for another Pac-12 title, continuing a run that saw them pile up a 60-8 record with four 12-win seasons over the last five years.
Boy, how wrong we were. Following a stunning 62-20 home loss to Utah (which saw the Ducks give up the most points in Autzen Stadium history) Oregon is 2-2 and has fallen completely out of the top 25.
The Ducks appear poised for a major fall. According to Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel, who talked to opposing coaches, this could be the beginning of something worse for the program.
While Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams (581 yards passing, four touchdowns, two interceptions) hasn’t necessarily placed a chokehold on the starting quarterback role, he isn’t the biggest problem. Oregon is allowing 40.8 points per game (No. 117 nationally) and 474.8 total yards per game (No. 110 nationally).
The pass defense has been abysmal: Oregon is yielding 301.3 yards per game, No. 114 nationally. With road trips to Arizona State and Stanford as well as a visit from Southern California, Mark Helfrich’s team is staring a five-loss season in the face.
Tennessee
7 of 10
As 2015 began, Butch Jones appeared to have Tennessee on the right track. In two seasons, Jones took a program mired in mediocrity thanks to Derek Dooley’s tenure and delivered its first postseason trip in four seasons, finishing by waxing Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
Seventeen starters returned. A talented 2015 recruiting class was on campus. The Volunteers were ready to compete for the SEC East, right?
Nope.
Entering Saturday’s game with miserable neighbor Arkansas, the Vols are 2-2, 0-1 in SEC play, with a pair of epic second-half collapses on their resume. Tennessee blew a 17-point second-half lead and fell to Oklahoma in double overtime, which was bad enough. Saturday was worse.
Leading 26-14 with just over 10 minutes left, the Vols looked on the cusp of their first win over Florida since 2004. But the Gators got off the mat for a pair of late touchdowns, including a 63-yard Antonio Callaway catch-and-run score with one minute and 20 seconds left. A potential game-winning 55-yard field goal sailed just right of the goalpost as time expired.
Tennessee ranks No. 18 in rushing offense but hasn’t gotten going through the air, averaging 183 passing yards per game, No. 102 nationally. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs has 557 yards passing but averages just 6.1 yards per attempt and is completing 58.2 percent of his passes.
Until the Vols find some offensive balance, they’ll be playing more close games with opportunities for disappointment.
Texas
8 of 10
Texas fans hoped that Charlie Strong’s second season in Austin would start producing results. It has only produced frustration. The Longhorns are 1-3, with special teams breakdowns leading to heartbreaking losses to Cal and Oklahoma State.
Former Longhorn star Vince Young believes in what Strong is doing at Texas, via CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd:
"Ever since he walked on campus, I had a relationship with [Strong] and the coaching staff. You can see what's going on. Definitely, I like the discipline because they're going to need that when they get in the pros. And not just the pros, but in everyday life. I know everybody wants to win, but it's not all about winning. Let's make sure they graduate first.
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On the field, however, late mistakes have stung. Against Cal, a missed extra point spelled doom in a 45-44 defeat. And with the score tied at 27 late in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State, punter Michael Dickson fumbled a snap inside his own 10 and booted a 10-yard punt that led to the Cowboys’ game-winning field goal.
Strong has finally found a quarterback, as Jerrod Heard has thrown for 613 yards with two touchdowns against two interceptions and is UT’s leading rusher with 295 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
But too many mistakes and a lack of overall success have made this a truly frustrating fall for the Longhorns. With a brutal Big 12 slate ahead, the forecast isn’t pleasant, either.
UCLA
9 of 10
Following consecutive 10-win seasons, Jim Mora Jr. and UCLA wanted to take the next step this fall and establish themselves as Pac-12 and College Football Playoff contenders. The Bruins have showed over the first month of the season that they’re ready to do just that.
A 56-30 whipping of 2014 Pac-12 champions Arizona on College GameDay in Tucson was the best sign that they’ve progressed. Five-star freshman quarterback Josh Rosen has meshed well with a roster that returned 17 starters from last season, throwing for 964 yards with seven touchdowns against four interceptions.
UCLA averages 236 rushing yards per game, No. 22 nationally, largely thanks to the presence of tailback Paul Perkins, the best back no one outside of Southern California is talking about. Perkins has 514 rushing yards and six touchdowns and could lead the Pac-12 in rushing for the second consecutive season.
If there’s a concern, it’s at linebacker, where Eric Kendricks’ graduation and Myles Jack’s season-ending torn ACL leave a void. But the Bruins remain talented on both sides of the ball and can make a College Football Playoff run as the Pac-12’s best team.
Utah
10 of 10
Despite a nine-win 2014 season, Utah began this fall a bit off of the national radar. A month into the 2015 campaign, that certainly isn’t the case anymore.
Veteran coach Kyle Whittingham’s team is 4-0 with wins over Michigan and Oregon. The 62-20 thumping of the Ducks in Autzen Stadium was one of this year’s most eye-opening results.
Tailback Devontae Booker has been a versatile presence with 443 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground, adding 15 receptions for 149 yards, while senior quarterback Travis Wilson has been steady with 513 passing yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
The Utes aren’t spectacular in any one area, but they do everything well. They still have matchups with USC and UCLA remaining, but this team can certainly make a run for the Pac-12 South title, and perhaps more.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
