The month of September has come and gone. While college football technically kicked off in August, the sport cranked into high gear in September, and there were several significant developments. Who were the biggest winners from the past month?
Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns entered the season as the 11th-ranked team in the country. That changed when they went to Tuscaloosa in early September and knocked off the Alabama Crimson Tide. Texas followed that up with a 31-10 win over Wyoming and two blowout conference victories over Baylor and Kansas. The month has ended with Texas landing a commitment from the top offensive tackle in the 2024 recruiting class (Brandon Baker).
The ‘Horns have risen in the rankings to number three and received ten first-place votes. Quinn Ewers is a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender (+700 @ BetMGM), and the Longhorns are in the thick of the hunt for a College Football Playoff bid (-110 to make the CFP @ FanDuel). It has been a terrific few weeks for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program.
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Michael Penix Jr.
The Washington quarterback was not ignored before the season, but the vast majority of attention was paid to USC’s Caleb Williams and the emergence of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Those players have earned recognition, but it’s Michael Penix Jr. who leads the nation in passing after September. Penix Jr. has thrown for 1,999 yards with a completion percentage of 74.7, 16 touchdowns, and just two interceptions.
His Washington Huskies are climbing the polls and looking like a real threat to make the College Football Playoff (+340 to make the CFP @ FanDuel). Penix Jr. is +450 to win the Heisman at BetMGM, second only to Williams.
Neal Brown
West Virginia’s Neal Brown entered the 2023 season firmly on the hot seat, and it was considered a foregone conclusion that he would not survive the 2023 campaign. The Mountaineers were picked last in most preseason Big 12 polls, and after failing to win more than six games in any of his previous four seasons in Morgantown, Brown looked likely to get the axe.
Fast forward to October, and Brown’s Mountaineers are 4-1 and tied for first in the Big 12. Their lone loss was a competitive performance at Penn State, and they have wins over Pitt, Texas Tech, and TCU. WVU now plays Houston, Oklahoma State, Central Florida, and BYU. They could make a run at eight or nine wins this season. Brown has undoubtedly secured his job at West Virginia.
PAC-12
The “Conference of Champions” existence is nearing an end, but the PAC-12 is going out with a bang before member schools migrate to new leagues. September saw an abundance of attention for Colorado, an explosion of offense for schools like Oregon, Washington, and USC, and excellent football from surprising Washington State. In addition, Utah beat Florida at home.
In Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix (+800)–three of the top four–and Cameron Ward (+3500), the conference has multiple Heisman Trophy contenders that will be squaring off with each other in the back half of the season. With six schools in the top 25, no conference will be more entertaining during the rest of the 2023 regular season.
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