September Superlatives

Now that we're a month into the 2009 season, let's take a look at some of college football's top performers.

Most Impressive

1. Alabama
2. Iowa
3. Houston

Yet again, the Crimson Tide are riding a big opening week win to the forefront of the national consciousness. Some pundits are proclaiming 'Bama the new favorite in the SEC; Homerism isn't ready to go that far. Still, the Tide's September is tops. (Anyone else get the feeling Nick Saban is about to lead 'Bama on a USC-esque run during the next decade?)

Most Valuable Player

1. Case Keenum, QB, Houston
2. Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati
3. A.J. Green, WR, Georgia

Keenum has played superbly in keying the Cougars' surprising 3-0 start, throwing for 366 yards and 430 yards, respectively, in huge wins over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Keenum has done it with his legs, too, running for a touchdown in each game, including the game winner versus Tech. Jahvid Best was running away with this one until yesterday's collapse against Oregon.

Best Coaching Job

1. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati
2. Kevin Sumlin, Houston
3. Chris Petersen, Boise State

Kelly replaced an entire defense from last season's Big East championship team and hasn't missed a beat. The Bearcats have received stellar play from senior QB Tony Pike, in particular, the triggerman behind Kelly's version of the spread. A Cincy-Florida national championship game doesn't sound so far-fetched.

Best Win

1. USC over Ohio State
2. Iowa over Penn State
3. Houston over Oklahoma State

What do all of these big victories have in common? All involved teams getting it done on the road against quality competition. That's a big feather in the cap of each when it comes time to stack up résumés at the end of the season.

Best Turnaround

1. Oregon
2. Georgia
3. Oklahoma

Each of these teams suffered disappointing losses in the first week, but the Ducks' defeat at Boise looked disastrous. Coach Chip Kelly's tenure in Eugene got off to about as ugly of a start as Homerism can imagine, and he lost his top offensive weapon for the seaon after a postgame fracas. Yet, since then, Oregon has hammered national championship darkhorse California, ended Utah's 16-game winning streak and survived a tough test from Purdue.

Biggest Storyline: "Nobody Knows Anything"

Heading into the season, it was supposed to be Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, USC and then everyone else. The Sooners blew that up in week one by losing to BYU. The Trojans kept doing what they do: beating a big-time foe on the road, Ohio State, and falling to an in-conference also-ran, Washington. Their replacements in the top five of the polls--teams like Penn State, Oklahoma State and Ole Miss--haven't fared so well, either. Even the Gators and Longhorns have raised questions at times with their play.

Most Likely to Succeed

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas

Despite concerns about star quarterback Tim Tebow's health and a somewhat uninspiring start to the season, the champs remain so until proven otherwise. At this point, a Florida-'Bama matchup in the SEC championship looks like a toss-up, though. Texas hasn't quite lived up to billing yet, but the Longhorns still should be considered the Big 12's prohibitive favorite. As wrong as the talking heads have been about everything else so far, the consensus championship game duel between Florida and Texas remains on track.

And now for a few "un-superlatives"...

Can't Be Gone Soon Enough

1. Whoever is coaching Florida State
2. That Kenny Chesney song
3. Dave Lapham

Biggest Boners

1. Hiring Jeremy Bates
2. Purdue's timeout screw-up versus Notre Dame
3. Jim Tressel's entire performance against USC

Borrowed Time

1. LSU
2. Charlie Weis
3. Dr. Lou

Coordinator Least Likely to be a Head Coach Next Season

1. Willie Martinez
2. Ruffin McNeil
3. Joe Paterno

Not (Quite) Ready for Primetime

1. Oklahoma State
2. Oklahoma's receiving corp
3. The U

Underratedly Overrated

1. Wake Forest
2. Blatant Homerism
3. Chris Fowler

Really Not That Great

1. Missouri
2. Joe McKnight
3. Erin Andrews