Week 1 Bandwagoning: Don't hand out the Heisman Trophy in September

Scott Hamilton is a veteran sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience covering college football and other major sports. An AP Top 25 voter in football and basketball, Hamilton also votes for the Heisman Trophy and serves on the FWAA All-America panel. Hamilton is also a host on Back Porch Sports, where he takes a broader look at college football and the biggest stories around sports. Watch the latest episode of Back Porch Sports with Scott Hamilton above.

Disclaimer: Bandwagoning is not a ranking of the best or worst teams, the biggest wins or worst losses. It’s instead an inexact assessment of the emotions experienced by various fan bases following their most recent game. There is nothing scientific about this. Not a thing.

SEATS GOING FAST: The urge to dole out a September Heisman is strong, and perhaps rightfully so. The months between the national championship and Week 1 feels like an eternity, making every notable early season performance feel epic or even legendary. And, indeed, football delivered through a firehouse in September is worth celebrating.

Just don’t fall into the trap that what happens over Labor Day will cinch the Heisman Trophy for someone who had a big weekend. 

The heroics of Miami receiver Malachi Toney in the Hurricane’s 45-6 win at Stanford (12 receptions, 234 yards, 4 TDs) certainly elevated his already lofty status. Yet, it won’t secure him the most iconic individual award in all of sports before summer officially ends. 

Still, the urge is there. And if not for Toney, then someone else who puts together a stellar four weeks to start the season. There’s also a really good chance that guy isn’t even New York this December for the award’s presentation.

Exhibit ‘A’: Clemson running back C.J. Spiller had a September 2009 in which he had 288 rushing yards, 150 receiving yards, 182 punt return yards and 250 yards in kickoff returns while scoring four total touchdowns. He finished sixth in Heisman voting.

Exhibit ‘B’: Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson was dynamic to start 2010 with 731 yards passing and four touchdowns, while rushing for 688 yards and six scores. That includes a tight 28-24 win over Notre Dame in which he totalled 502 yards. Yet, Robinson also finished sixth.

Houston’s Case Keenum had 2,005 yards passing in September 2011, West Virginia’s Geno Smith threw 20 touchdowns. Keenum was seventh in the final voting; Smith didn’t even make the top 10.

Texas Tech QB Kenny Hill was Kenny Trill in September 2014, but he was Kenny Outside the Top 10 when it came time to select a Heisman winner. LSU RB Leonard Fournette ran wild over Auburn for 228 yards in 2015 without even playing the second half, part of a September during which he averaged 215 yards from scrimmage and scored eight TDs. Guess where he finished in the final Heisman tally?

The popular sixth position.

PLENTY OF ROOM LEFT: There won’t be any quick triggers in Stillwater, Okla., after Oklahoma State lost to Tulsa for the second straight year. And, apparently, there won’t be any quick fixes, either.

Tulsa won 24-10, securing back-to-back wins over the Cowboys for the first time since 1951-52. Oklahoma State fired coach Mike Gundy four days later, ending a coaching run that began with him as an assistant in 2001 and, before that, as a player during the late-1980s.

No coaching changes are expected after Eric Morris began his Oklahoma State tenure 0-1 despite being 13.5-point favorites. But the loss signals that the Cowboys aren’t about to undergo any Indiana-like worst-to-first flip despite following the Hoosiers’ blueprint of importing a new coach and a boatload of his current players.

There are 92 new players on Oklahoma State’s roster, including 19 who followed Morris from North Texas. The newbies are fronted by QB Drew Mestemaker who threw for a FBS-most 4,379 yards and 34 TDs while leading the Mean Green to the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense (45.1 points per game).

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, that didn’t carry over in Week 1 of this season. Mestemaker was 29 of 49 for 241 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions against the Golden Hurricane.

That's where it's important to file away Indiana's metamorphosis as a unique achievement under unique circumstances. Because even modest improvement from last season's 1-11 record is improvement, nevertheless.

JUMPING ON: Give it up for the little guys. Three Football Championship Subdivision teams beat Football Bowl Division opponents in Week 1, only one shy of the entire total for 2025. Five D-II teams beat FCS squads during Week 0. Also, Louisiana Christian beat Northwestern State 42-37 on Aug. 27, marking the first win ever for an NAIA team over a D-I opponent.

JUMPING OFF: Speaking of lower levels punching up, let’s see where this exercise in transitive thinking (or transitive inference for the books-before-ball types) takes you:

FBS team Charlotte lost at home to FCS squad The Citadel 43-41 in triple overtime; The Citadel was beaten 42-14 on Aug. 29 at Wofford, which barely defeated Gardner-Webb 17-13 in Week 1. That’s the same Gardner-Webb that fired coach Kris McCullough only one game into his tenure with the Runnin Bulldogs (a 35-17 loss at Austin Peay) for unspecified reasons. To compound matters, he was let go about 72 hours before Gardner-Webb kicked off against Wofford.

The logical takeaway?

Charlotte – which went 1-11 last year and has had only one winning season since rebooting its football program in 2013 – should probably consider dropping football. Or, at the very minimum, dropping down to the FCS.

Up next for the 49ers: a trip to Ole Miss followed by its alleged rivalry game at Appalachian State.

HOT TICKETS: Joey Freshwater … UMass … West Virginia RB Cam Cook … South Carolina offensive line coach Randy Clements … Minnesota PR Javon Tracy … The Mid-American Conference … Tennessee DL Xavier Gilliam … Memphis’ pass rush … Air Force’s red-white-blue uniforms … 2016 Dabo Swinney.

COLD TICKETS: Big Ten’s clock management … Rutgers … Alabama WR Ryan Coleman-Williams … Clemson offensive line coach Matt Luke … Utah State quarterbacks … Going for two at the end of regulation … UTEP K Carlos Arreola … Georgia Tech’s offensive line … Wisconsin’s all-red uniforms … 2026 Dabo Swinney.