September: done. Up next is the key middle stretch of the regular season, when contenders appear, pretenders are revealed and a clear top group emerges in the race for the College Football Playoff.
Before getting there, let’s take a look back at the first month of the 2026 season with our Bowl Subdivision superlatives. The debate starts with multiple candidates for the title of college football’s best team at the one-third mark.
In this case, the best team and the team with the best résumé are two different things. While No. 1 Texas has compiled a pair of top-level wins to earn the latter superlative, the nation’s best team in our monthly recap is another team from the SEC.
USC, Missouri, Penn State among Week 4's biggest offenders
From best team to worst, the Heisman Trophy favorite, best transfer and coach on the hottest seat, here’s USA TODAY Sports’ look back at September:
Best CFP résumé: No. 1 Texas
There’s no debate over which Power Four team has put together the strongest résumé through one month. The Longhorns came back to beat No. 6 Ohio State in non-conference play and then kicked off SEC action with a road win against No. 17 Tennessee, giving them a pair of data points that are currently unmatched in the playoff race. Looking ahead to December, the win against the Buckeyes should be enough to keep Texas in the mix for a top-four ranking even without winning the SEC.
Best team: No. 2 Georgia
But the best team in the country has been Georgia — or at least the most dominant. The Bulldogs have won four games by a combined 166 points, including a pair in SEC play against Arkansas and Oklahoma. Georgia is giving up 3.5 yards per play, has allowed just 202 rushing yards, leads the nation in scoring with 54.8 points per game and ranks second nationally with 8.2 yards per play.
Best Group of Six team: Boise State
Boise will head into the Pac-12 schedule as the clear frontrunner in the Group of Six chase for an automatic playoff berth. The Broncos posted September wins against Memphis and Western Michigan, giving them a big advantage over two other Group of Six contenders, and also played No. 15 Oregon very tight in the opener before losing by a touchdown on the road.
Most improved teams: No. 16 Mississippi State and No. 23 UCLA
Mississippi State backdoored into a bowl game last season but has taken a huge leap forward behind second-year quarterback Kamario Taylor. This weekend’s matchup with No. 7 Alabama will show whether the Bulldogs have staying power. UCLA has been a revelation under former James Madison coach Bob Chesney, mirroring a similar trajectory to Indiana in 2024 under another first-year former JMU coach in Curti Cignetti.
Worst Power Four team: Rutgers
Options abound, including Boston College, Purdue, Arkansas and, surprisingly, Georgia Tech. But the nod goes to the one-win Scarlet Knights, who own losses to the Eagles and Massachusetts. Rutgers has played better of late against No. 18 Southern California and Howard, though.
Heisman Trophy leader: WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State
A wide receiver winning the Heisman without adding extra yardage or impact as a runner or returner would fly in the face of history. But Smith has been everything he was expected to be and more, most recently delivering 217 yards and four touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ rout of Illinois.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning delivered his Heisman moment by leading Texas to a 21-point fourth quarter and win against Ohio State. He has the name recognition and is the starter for the nation’s top-ranked team. But the numbers aren’t in his favor: Manning has one touchdown and two interceptions in two Power Four matchups.
Best coach: Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Beating Ohio State was big for Texas, but winning in Knoxville might’ve been even bigger given the team’s struggles away from home last season. Sarkisian and his staff did great work in the transfer portal, especially in giving Manning additional pieces at the skill positions, and the Longhorns have shown the depth and consistency to win games in the fourth quarter against top competition.
Best first-year coach: Jon Sumrall, Florida
Chesney and No. 13 Utah coach Morgan Scalley are both deserving candidates after a strong start. But Florida has scored at least 40 points in each of the first four games of the year for the first time since 2001, capped by Saturday’s 52-28 win against No. 12 Mississippi.
Biggest surprise: Big Ten’s struggles
The best of the best in the Big Ten still matches up nationally. But the league’s reputation has taken a hit after the Buckeyes’ loss to Texas, No. 5 Indiana’s wishy-washy start, Oregon’s loss to Oklahoma State, No. 22 Penn State’s loss to Wisconsin, and No. 24 Michigan’s loss to No. 14 Iowa and controversial win against Western Michigan. As of now, the Big Ten is a three-team playoff league.
Biggest disappointment: Oklahoma
After earning an at-large playoff bid last season, the Sooners were pegged as a program ready to take the next step and truly compete for the SEC crown. That’s clearly not the case after an avoidable loss to Michigan, an ugly win against New Mexico and a revealing blowout at the hands of Georgia. After this start, the Sooners’ focus shifts to simply securing bowl eligibility. And with six games to go against teams currently ranked in one of the major polls, that’s not a sure thing.
Coach on the hottest seat: Mike Locksley, Maryland
Lincoln Riley, Deion Sanders and Bill Belichick are in the same boat. While Locksley isn’t the biggest name on hot seat, he’s the Power Four coach facing the highest likelihood of a midseason dismissal after an embarrassing 54-3 loss to UCLA. The Terrapins won 23 games from 2021-23 but have posted just three wins against Power Four teams since.
Best transfer: QB Darian Mensah, Miami
Fourteen touchdown passes. Twelve incompletions. Yeah, so Miami hasn’t played anyone. That shouldn’t overshadow how unbelievably good Mensah has been since transferring from Duke and how much better he can be as the Hurricanes continue to churn through an overmatched ACC.
Best freshman: WR Jason Legree, Oregon State
We’ll head off the Power Four path to highlight Legree, who has taken all of the FBS by storm after signing with Oregon State as a three-star recruit. He had 136 receiving yards to open the season against No. 20 Houston, 240 yards against No. 10 Texas Tech, 100 yards against Montana and another 109 yards against Texas-El Paso. On the year, the Baltimore native ranks second nationally to Smith in yards (585) and touchdowns (six) and first in yards per catch (25.4) among players with at least 15 receptions.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College Football Report Card: Best and worst teams, biggest surprise, top transfer
