MLB Awards Week results and analysis: Acuna, Ohtani both unanimous MVPs
MLB Awards Week is a wrap.
As we look ahead to 2024 and await some of the offseason’s biggest free agent signings (where will you go, Shohei Ohtani?), baseball celebrated the best players (and managers) in the game during the 2023 regular season.
The week started off with Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson unanimously winning American League Rookie of the Year honors and Arizona’s Corbin Carroll becoming a unanimous selection in the National League. Next up, Henderson’s skipper, Brandon Hyde, won AL Manager of the Year, with Miami’s Skip Schumaker taking home the NL silverware.
On Wednesday, San Diego’s Blake Snell took home his second Cy Young Award — this time in the NL, after having previously won in the AL in 2018 — while the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole unanimously won the AL’s Cy Young, the first in his career.
Finally, on Thursday, MLB history was made as Ohtani earned his second AL MVP Award in three seasons and Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. rode an unprecedented 40/70 campaign to land his first MVP trophy — both players winning unanimously.
Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s awards, from the final voting tallies to analysis on each winner from ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle.
Jump to … :
Rookie of the Year: AL | NL
Manager of the Year: AL | NL
Cy Young: AL | NL
MVP: AL | NL
American League MVP
Winner: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Final tally: Ohtani, Angels 420 (30 first-place votes); Corey Seager, Rangers 264; Marcus Semien, Rangers 216; Julio Rodriguez, Mariners 197; Kyle Tucker, Astros 178; Yandy Diaz, Rays 137; Bobby Witt Jr., Royals 83; Gunnar Henderson, Orioles 77; Adley Rutschman, Orioles 50; Jose Ramirez, Guardians 40; Gerrit Cole, Yankees 30; Luis Robert Jr., White Sox 21; Yordan Alvarez, Astros 16; Adolis Garcia, Rangers 14; Aaron Judge, Yankees 7; Bo Bichette, Blue Jays 5; J.P. Crawford, Mariners 5; Cal Raleigh, Mariners 2; Rafael Devers, Red Sox 2; Isaac Paredes, Rays 2; Sonny Gray, Twins 2; Alex Bregman, Astros 1; Josh Naylor, Guardians 1
Experts’ pick: Ohtani (13 votes) (unanimous choice)
Doolittle’s take: This race was ostensibly over by the middle of August, with Ohtani building up such a big lead in his dual role that no one else came close, even though Ohtani’s season ended nearly a month early.
On Aug. 9, when Ohtani made his last full-fledged start on the mound (he made a brief four-out start on Aug. 23), he had already piled up 9.0 bWAR, 3.1 more than any other player in the majors. Ronald Acuna Jr., who had an MVP campaign of his own in the NL, was at 5.9.
At that point, Ohtani’s 5.5 bWAR for his hitting alone would have given him the AL lead, before we even started tacking on his performance on the mound. Which, incidentally, was terrific — he was third in the AL behind Cy Young winner Cole and Texas’ Nathan Eovaldi with 3.5 pitching bWAR, the same figure posted by the NL leader, Cy Young winner Blake Snell.
Ohtani finished with 10.0 bWAR, 1.7 more than anyone else even though he made his last appearance on Sept. 3. He still managed to lead the AL in homers (44), on-base percentage (.412), slugging (.654), OPS (1.066) and total bases (325). He even batted over .300 — one of just seven MLB qualifiers to do so — for the first time in his career. On the mound, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA over 23 starts with 167 strikeouts, whiffing 11.4 batters per nine innings.
As has been written so many times, we’ve just never seen anything like this. This was peak Ohtani, a unicorn of a superstar at the absolute height of his powers. In a way, that’s kind of bittersweet. With Ohtani undergoing Tommy John surgery for a second time, we don’t know what his future on the mound will look like. And his magical 2023 season, had it lasted a little longer, could have firmly established itself in the minds of many as the best single season a player has ever had.
Ohtani is far from done, and some team will soon be opening up the vault for him in a major way. But there is no guarantee that Ohtani will be able to replicate or surpass what he has done the past couple of years. If he does, we have a lot to look forward to, no matter what uniform he ends up wearing.
Seager’s season is a bit of what-if as well. His eye-popping slash line (.327/.390/.623) included an AL-high 42 doubles and 33 homers even though he got into just 119 games because of injury. With Ohtani’s season ending when it did, if Seager had repeated his 151 games played from 2022, who knows how this race might have shaken out. If you prorate his bWAR to 151 games, it’s still “only” 8.7, so perhaps nothing would have changed. It would have been nice to find out. Seager will console himself with another World Series MVP trophy.
Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it:
1. Ohtani, Angels (159 AXE)
2. Seager, Rangers (141)
3. Semien, Rangers (137)
4. Tucker, Astros (133)
5. Rodriguez, Mariners (132)
Note: AXE is an index that creates a consensus rating from the leading value metrics (WAR, from Fangraphs and Baseball Reference) and contextual metrics (win probability added and championship probability added, both from Baseball Reference).
MVP must-reads:
Shohei Ohtani Tracker: Where will MLB’s top free agent land?
Is Corey Seager the new Mr. October?
National League MVP
Winner: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
Final tally: Acuna Jr., Braves 420 (30 first-place votes); Mookie Betts, Dodgers 270; Freddie Freeman, Dodgers 227; Matt Olson, Braves 223; Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks 165; Juan Soto, Padres 106; Austin Riley, Braves 68; Luis Arraez, Marlins 67; Francisco Lindor, Mets 52; Cody Bellinger, Cubs 49; William Contreras, Brewers 39; Bryce Harper, Nationals 36; Blake Snell, Padres 16; Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres 5; Ha-Seong Kim, Padres 5; Ozzie Albies, Braves 4; Logan Webb, Giants 3; Pete Alonso, Mets 3; Marcell Ozuna, Braves 2; Devin Williams, Brewers 2; Dansby Swanson, Cubs 2; Kyle Schwarber, Phillies 2; Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks 1; Christian Walker, Diamondbacks 1; TJ Friedl, Reds 1; Nick Castellanos, Phillies 1
Experts’ picks: Acuna (12 votes), Betts (1)
Doolittle’s take: In some ways, the quality of this year’s NL MVP race is illustrated not by what the three finalists did but what the fourth-place finisher did. Poor Matt Olson banged 54 homers, drove in 139 runs, led the NL in slugging, played in all 162 games for Atlanta and rolled up 7.4 bWAR. And he didn’t even get to be on MLB Network’s MVP announcement show, which features the finalists.
Betts was more or less even steven with Acuna in the value metrics, and some have pointed out that he should get even more credit because his ability to flex from right field — where he is a generational defender — to both middle infield positions was of immeasurable value to a Dodgers team that needed help in that area. It’s a valid point.
Still, sometimes we can overthink these things, and Acuna’s season is what an MVP season should look like. Slash line: .337/.416/.596, and who knows where he pulled that batting average from after hitting .277 over his first five MLB seasons. He led the NL in hits (217, the most by any player in nine years) and runs (149, the most by any player in 23 years). He hammered 41 homers and drove in 106 — from the leadoff spot — rolling up 383 total bases. And, oh yeah, he stole 73 bases in baseball’s new thievery environment, becoming the first 40/50, 40/60 and 40/70 player.
This was Acuna’s age-25 season, and while it’ll be awfully hard to top what he did in 2023, this is just the start of what should be the prime of his career. If Acuna stays healthy, he will be putting up mind-boggling numbers over the next few years, and this isn’t the last time we’ll be talking about him in the MVP race.
Still, this was not a no-brainer. Betts has every claim to the title of baseball’s best position player and perhaps best overall player now that the pitching half of Ohtani is on the shelf. Freeman, the metronomic superstar, continues to bolster his Hall of Fame résumé with each passing year. The NL is so loaded, players like Olson might find out in the years to come that 50-plus homers and 130-plus RBIs just aren’t enough in today’s senior circuit.
Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it:
1. Acuna Jr., Braves (152)
2. Betts, Dodgers (151)
3. Freeman, Dodgers (144)
4. Olson, Braves (141)
5. Carroll, Diamondbacks (137)
MVP must-reads:
Inside Ronald Acuna Jr.’s return to MVP form
How Mookie Betts became a Dodgers … infielder
American League Cy Young
Winner: Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
Final tally: Cole, 210 (30 first-place votes); Sonny Gray, Twins 104; Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays 82; Kyle Bradish, Orioles 39; Luis Castillo, Mariners 23; Zach Eflin, Rays 19; Pablo Lopez, Twins 11; George Kirby, Mariners 8; Framber Valdez, Astros 6; Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays 4; Felix Bautista, Orioles 3; Chris Martin, Red Sox 1
Experts’ picks: Cole (13 votes) (unanimous choice)
Doolittle’s take: Gerrit Cole ranked seventh among active big league pitchers with 40.7 career bWAR following his 2023 campaign. The six pitchers ahead of him won a combined 12 Cy Young Awards. The only pitcher ahead of Cole without a trophy was Boston’s Chris Sale, whose career has been more or less derailed by injury for the past half-decade. That made the argument that Cole was the best active pitcher without a Cy Young an easy call. Suffice to say, Cole is happy to no longer be a part of that conversation.
Timing is everything when it comes to awards because whether you win doesn’t depend just on what you do, but what everyone else does. Whether or not you see 2023 as Cole’s best season depends on what statistics and metrics you value. To me, he has had better seasons, if only because he’s posted much higher strikeout rates in the past. His 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings was his lowest figure in six years. Yet Cole managed to lead the AL in ERA+ (165), ERA (2.63) and innings pitched (209). Despite allowing more balls in play than normal, he still led the league in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.8) while slashing 13 homers off his AL-high figure of 33 in 2022.
Now, at age 32 and four years into the nine-year contract he signed with the Yankees in 2020, Cole has not only been worth the $36 million-per-season investment so far, but his evolution this past season showed that there is plenty of reason to believe he will continue to justify his massive salary. Cole remains a fixture in any team’s dream rotation, and while the 2023 Yankees had a lot of problems, he certainly wasn’t one of them. In fact, he is the sixth Yankee to win a Cy Young but the first to do so in a year in which the Yankees didn’t make the World Series. (The others: Bob Turley, 1958; Whitey Ford, 1961; Sparky Lyle, 1977; Ron Guidry, 1978; Roger Clemens, 2001).
At this point, Cole has 145 career wins, 40.7 bWAR, 2,152 career strikeouts and a league-adjusted ERA+ that’s 30 points better than average. He owns two ERA titles and has been an All-Star six times. And, now, he has a Cy Young trophy to put on his mantel. Of course, it’s too soon to start talking Cooperstown for Cole, but it’s not hard to see a path for him getting there. As the role of the starting pitcher has morphed over time, especially during Cole’s time in the majors, we’ll eventually have to take a stern look at what it means to be a Hall of Fame pitcher in a 21st century context. Cole is on his way to establishing the paradigm for what that looks like.
Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it:
1. Cole, Yankees (153 AXE)
2. Gray, Twins (143)
3. (tie) Gausman, Blue Jays (134)
Bradish, Orioles (134)
5. Kirby, Mariners (133)
National League Cy Young
Winner: Blake Snell, San Diego Padres
Final tally: Snell, 204 (28 first-place votes); Logan Webb, Giants 86 (1); Zac Gallen, D-backs 68 (1); Spencer Strider, Braves 64; Justin Steele, Cubs 32; Zack Wheeler, Phillies 28; Kodai Senga, Mets 15; Corbin Burnes, Brewers 13
Experts’ picks: Snell (12 votes), Webb (1)
Doolittle’s take: There just wasn’t much that separated the top candidates in the NL this season. If anything, Snell’s win is an interesting snapshot of what voters value in modern-day Cy Young voting. That’s not to take anything away from his campaign, but you could have made a cogent argument for any of the top six on the AXE leaderboard and I might have been swayed.
In some ways, Snell has become the consummate ace, circa 2023. He prevented runs better than any other pitcher in the NL, which is why he won the award. He led the league with a 2.25 ERA, and his ERA+ was a robust 182. He can be maddening to watch because he just doesn’t give in to a hitter. That keeps his whiff rate elite (11.7 per nine innings) but also means a lot of walks (5.0) — though hitters needed those walks to get on base because Snell yielded an absurdly low 5.8 hits per nine innings.
The cost of the way Snell works, however, is that he doesn’t often pitch deep into games. He led the NL with 99 pitches thrown per game but ranked just 18th in innings pitched per start. Despite making 32 starts on the season, he ranked just 10th in innings pitched (180). He labors to keep runs off the board and while he requires more bullpen support than your typical ace, at his best, he is really hard to score against.
Snell is the 22nd pitcher to win multiple Cy Young Awards. In some ways, he’s perhaps the most unlikely hurler to do so.
Now eight years into his career, this is just the second time Snell compiled enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. But when he did, he won those ERA titles both times … and won a Cy Young Award. Other than a lower win total, his 2023 season for the Padres is a virtual copy of his Cy Young season for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018. Other than those two standout seasons, Snell has never reached even 130 innings pitched despite a career ERA+ of 127. He’s a quality-over-quantity guy, a true avatar for the current description of a rotation ace.
As I mentioned earlier, good arguments could have been made for the others — especially the other finalists, Webb and Gallen, who both threw at least 30 more innings than Snell did. These days, innings might be the single most telltale detail of a starter’s season because a high total doesn’t just suggest durability and pitch efficiency but also excellence in those innings — or else many of them would have been allotted to the bullpen. Still, when you keep runs off the board at a top-of-the-charts rate and take all your turns in the rotation as Snell did, it’s a hard combination to beat.
Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it:
1. (tie) Snell, Padres (142 AXE)
Webb, Giants (142)
3. Wheeler, Phillies (139)
4. Gallen, Diamondbacks (138)
5. (tie) Steele, Cubs (134)
Strider, Braves (134)
American League Manager of the Year
Winner: Brandon Hyde, Baltimore Orioles
Final tally: Hyde 144 (27 first-place votes); Bruce Bochy, Rangers 61 (3); Kevin Cash, Rays 52; Rocco Baldelli, Twins 8; Dusty Baker, Astros 4; John Schneider, Blue Jays 1
Experts’ picks: Hyde (9 votes), Bochy (4)
Doolittle’s take: Anyone paying attention knew the Orioles were a franchise poised to bust out — but few thought they’d do so in a 100-plus-win fashion, let alone this year, just two seasons removed from a 110-loss season. With the laid-back Hyde setting the tone, the Baby Birds won more games than any Baltimore team since the days of Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer and Eddie Murray. The O’s added 18 wins to their 2022 win total (83) — which was in itself a major surprise.
While the manager awards are the hardest to contextualize with metrics at the individual level, Hyde stood out in all the areas that tend to attract observers to managerial excellence. Baltimore outperformed its run profile by 7.2 wins, second-largest positive gap in the majors. The Orioles beat their preseason over-under consensus by 23.5 wins, making them easily the most surprising team in baseball. And they went 30-16 in one-run games.
Beyond that, the Orioles were just fun, as Hyde and his staff continue to transition some of the game’s most promising young players into the big league level. Who will forget the “Homer Hose,” which was totally not at all exactly like a fraternity party beer bong?
Some managers are hired ostensibly to be a rebuild skipper, to hold down the fort as the losses pile up and the team builds its roster to contention worthiness. Often, those beleaguered managers are fired in favor of a big-name skipper as soon as the team starts contending. Anything can happen, of course, but it sure looks like Hyde and the Orioles are a fit poised for a long run together.
Hyde becomes the fourth Oriole to win AL Manager of the Year honors, joining Frank Robinson (1989), Davey Johnson (1997) and Buck Showalter (2014). Bochy finished a distant second, so he’ll have to be content with his fourth World Series trophy. Chances are he’s happy to do just that.
Here’s how my EARL leaderboard had it:
1. Hyde, Orioles (17.3)
2. A.J. Hinch, Tigers (8.9)
3. Cash, Rays (4.8)
4. Bochy, Rangers (0.4)
5. Scott Servais, Mariners (minus-0.3)
Note: EARL is a metric that looks at how a team’s winning percentage varies from expectations generated by projections, run differential and one-run record. While attributing these measures to managerial performance is presumptive, the metric does tend to track well with the annual balloting.
Manager of the Year must-reads:
How the Baltimore Orioles went from raw talent to really good
Why Bruce Bochy might be the greatest manager ever
National League Manager of the Year
Winner: Skip Schumaker, Miami Marlins
Final tally: Schumaker, 72 (8 first-place votes); Craig Counsell, Brewers 51 (5); Brian Snitker, Braves 48 (8); Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks 42 (4); Dave Roberts, Dodgers 41 (4); David Bell, Reds 13 (1); David Ross, Cubs 3
Experts’ picks: Counsell (7 votes), Schumaker (6)
Doolittle’s take: First off, I have to point out that the voters overlooked a prime candidate in David Bell, who led a rookie-laden Reds team to a 20-win improvement. Whether he did a superior job to Schumacher, Counsell or Snitker is an open debate — but the latter two piloted teams that most observers felt would contend, and Snitker led a loaded Braves team that you could all but pencil into the playoffs. None of this is to knock the finalists, but more to give some props to the overlooked Bell.
The Marlins hired Schumaker, a former Cardinals coach, last winter to succeed Don Mattingly. The first-year skipper was up for the challenge, leading Miami to a 15-win improvement, a winning record and a surprise wild-card slot. And so he outpaced Counsell in the voting and prevents the Cubs’ new manager from being honored for his work in leading his old team past his new team in the NL Central race. (Baseball gets confusing at times.)
The Marlins outperformed their run profile by an MLB-high 9.1 wins this season on the strength of a surreal 33-14 record in one-run games. Leading a team that lacked offensive firepower — Miami ranked 14th in park-adjusted run scoring — Schumaker guided his club through a surfeit of tight, low-scoring games, belying his lack of experience as the top guy in the dugout. It’s hard to argue against his place atop the balloting.
At 43, the future looks bright for Schumaker at a time when his team is again feeling around for the stability that has always eluded the Marlins franchise. He’s the fourth Marlins pilot to win Manager of the Year honors. The previous three — Jack McKeon (2003), Joe Girardi (2006) and Mattingly (2020) — led the Marlins for a combined total of four seasons after being honored.
Counsell, perhaps the game’s best manager, has still never won the award — he now has finished second in the balloting four times. Snitker fell short in his bid to win his second; he, too, has finished fourth or better in the voting in each of the past six years.
Here’s how my EARL leaderboard had it:
1. Bell, Reds (8.5)
2. Snitker, Braves (6.6)
3. Schumacher, Marlins (6.2)
4. Dave Martinez, Nationals (5.7)
5. Lovullo, Diamondbacks (5.5)
Manager of the Year must-reads:
Why Cubs stole Craig Counsell from Brewers
How Craig Counsell reset the managerial salary landscape — maybe forever
American League Rookie of the Year
Winner: Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
Final tally: Henderson, 150 (30 first-place votes); Tanner Bibee, Guardians 67; Triston Casas, Red Sox 25; Josh Jung, Rangers 16; Yainer Diaz, Astros 6; Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox 3; Edouard Julien, Twins 2; Anthony Volpe, Yankees 1
Experts’ picks: Henderson (13 votes) (unanimous choice)
Doolittle’s take: In many years, you are tempted to throw out the observation that the Rookie of the Year isn’t necessarily the best prospect in a season. This time around, the argument is more about whose long-term outlook is more sparkling — the AL’s Henderson or the NL’s Carroll. In terms of preseason consensus, both entered the season as the top prospect in their respective league, and, all these months later, they are no-brainer picks for the Rookie of the Year awards. It’s nice when things line up like that.
Henderson struggled at the plate early in the season. By the end of the season, he was a catalyst in the Orioles’ lineup, finishing with 28 homers. And he took over as Baltimore’s everyday shortstop, moving over from the hot corner in June. From there, he played at short more often but could flip back depending on the needs of the lineup. His defensive metrics were strong at both spots.
Moving forward, there is room for Henderson to get even better. He hit just .199 with a .595 OPS against lefties, carrying over the platoon split he displayed in the minors. That’s probably more of a concern for future Orioles opponents than it is for Henderson.
Henderson becomes the first Oriole to win AL Rookie of the Year honors since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1982. Last season, Adley Rutschman finished second in the voting behind Julio Rodriguez. With Jackson Holliday a popular pick as the current top prospect in the game, this foundation for the Orioles just keeps getting stronger and deeper.
Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it:
1. Henderson, Diamondbacks (130 AXE)
2. Bibee, Guardians (118)
3. Zack Gelof, Athletics (113)
4. (tie) Royce Lewis, Twins (112)
Edouard Julien, Twins (112)
Yennier Cano, Orioles (112)
Rookie the Year must-reads:
How young Orioles rode their talent to the AL’s best record
National League Rookie of the Year
Winner: Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
Final tally: Carroll, 150 (30 first-place votes); Kodai Senga, Mets 71; James Outman, Dodgers 20; Nolan Jones, Rockies 17; Matt McLain, Reds 5; Spencer Steer, Reds 4; Eury Perez, Marlins 1; Elly De La Cruz, Reds 1; Patrick Bailey, Giants 1
Experts’ picks: Carroll (13 votes) (unanimous choice)
Doolittle’s take: The NL’s 2023 rookie class was a strong one, but after April, there was little drama in the race for this award. Carroll rolled to a .910 OPS during the first month, though he was a bit overshadowed by James Outman‘s powerful first month for the Dodgers. After that, it was all Carroll, who displayed both the consistent and the spectacular on his way to a historic rookie campaign.
Carroll is the complete package at the plate. At 22, he manifested speed (54 steals, NL-high 10 triples), power (25 homers, .506 slugging), contact (.285 average) and discipline (57 walks and 13 HBPs). He hit at home (.902 OPS) and on the road (.843). He hit righties (.286) and lefties (.283), though he showed a lot more slug against righties. He became the first rookie to reach 25 homers and 50 steals in the same season.
Carroll was a beast in the early rounds of the postseason during Arizona’s unlikely run to the World Series, but he trailed off in the National League Championship Series and the Fall Classic. He’s not a finished product at 22, but who is? As with Henderson, that he still has weaknesses to iron out is a scary prospect for Arizona opponents. Carroll is the first Diamondbacks player to be named Rookie of the Year.
As mentioned, this was an awfully good rookie class in the NL. The Reds were a one-team ROY ballot on their own, with McLain, Elly de la Cruz, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Spencer Steer and Andrew Abbott all among the first-year standouts.
The Mets and Giants found their catchers of the future in 2023 (Francisco Alvarez and Patrick Bailey). The Brewers graduated a plethora of exciting outfielders (Sal Frelick, Joey Weimer, Garrett Mitchell). The Rockies’ dismal season was partially redeemed by the play and promise flashed by shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. Senga was the best thing that happened in the Mets’ disappointing year.
Ahead of this impressive group was Carroll, who, along with Henderson, showed us that sometimes even the most hyped prospects turn out to live up to their advanced billing.
Here’s how my AXE leaderboard had it:
1. Carroll, Diamondbacks (137)
2. (tie) Senga, Mets (122)
Jones, Rockies (122)
4. Outman, Dodgers (120)
5. McLain, Reds (117)
Rookie of the Year must-reads:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida fired coach Billy Napier on Sunday, a day after an error-filled win against Mississippi State that included more head-scratching calls and offensive lulls like those that marked much of his four-year run with the Gators.
Athletic director Scott Stricklin made the move following a 23-21 victory that improved the Gators’ record to 3-4 but looked as if it was going to be a gut-wrenching loss until defensive tackle Michai Boireau picked off a pass with 21 seconds left and the Bulldogs near field goal range.
The game-sealing takeaway energized The Swamp, but the home crowd quickly turned on Napier and booed him as he sprinted off the field. Stricklin had seen enough and pulled the plug on a run that most of the Florida faithful thought lasted longer than it should have.
Florida owes Napier roughly $21 million, with half of that buyout due within 30 days. The rest will be spread over three annual installments beginning next summer, meaning that, since the Gators are still paying former coach Dan Mullen, they will be paying three head coaches for the second time in seven years once they hire Napier’s replacement; they did the same with Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Mullen in 2018.
Napier went 22-23 in four seasons at Florida, including 12-16 in SEC play. He was 5-17 against ranked opponents, including 0-14 away from home, and declined to give up his playcalling role despite calls to do so.
Equally damning: His 3-12 mark against rivals Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami and Tennessee includes the fewest wins by a Florida coach in such games since the late 1930s.
Napier is the first full-time coach at Florida to finish his tenure with a losing record since Raymond Wolf (1946 to ’49).
“Making this decision during the open date provides our team valuable time to regroup, refocus, and prepare for the challenges ahead. The timing also allows us to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and well-informed search for our next head coach. We remain fully committed to utilizing every resource available to identify the right leader to guide Gators Football into the future,” Stricklin said in a statement.
“I will conduct the search with a high degree of confidentiality to protect the privacy of those involved. The search will focus on the hiring of an elite football coach who will embody the standard we have at the University of Florida, and we will continue to provide all of the necessary resources for that coach, his staff and the players to be successful.”
Receivers coach Billy Gonzales was named interim for Florida’s remaining five games, beginning against rival Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) on Nov. 1 in Jacksonville. The Gators (3-4, 2-2) have an off week to regroup from the chaos that often comes with a coaching change.
Jettisoning Napier will temporarily quell a frustrated fanbase, but the group won’t truly be satisfied until the Gators hire someone with a proven track record at college football’s highest level.
Napier sealed his fate against the Bulldogs. He dialed up a QB rollout on a third-and-1 play in the waning minutes that led to a punt and gave Mississippi State a chance down the stretch. He also called a QB keeper on a third-and-7 play earlier in the game, botched the final possession before halftime and was flagged for having 12 men on the field during a 2-point try.
It was a fitting end for a coach who often looked in over his head in the powerhouse SEC. Between repeated penalties, game organization issues, clock management miscues and running an offensive scheme that was as predictable as it was pedestrian, Napier stuck around longer than many thought he deserved.
Stricklin gave the coach a public vote of confidence shortly before the Gators won their final four games of 2024. They hoped to carry that momentum into Napier’s fourth season, but quarterback DJ Lagway was out close to eight months recovering from injuries — and it showed.
Lagway looked mostly lost in the pocket as Florida struggled to move the ball. Suddenly, the two-time Sun Belt Conference coach of the year, who gained fame at his previous stop by saying “scared money don’t make money,” seemed afraid to get the ball down the field the way Lagway did with such ease as a freshman.
Most outsiders saw this ending coming. Although Napier accomplished plenty while helping the program navigate name, image and likeness compensation and revenue sharing, he churned through assistants while failing to find much consistency on either side of the ball.
“The standards and expectations for Gators football are to win championships — not simply to compete. We exist to win, and will not settle for less. UF has never been more invested in the success of this football program — elite facilities, robust NIL opportunities and comprehensive support for our student athletes and staff — than we are today,” Strickland said.
“The University of Florida is a destination — a place where people come to achieve excellence. With our resources, passionate fan base, and unwavering commitment, we are determined to return Gators football to championship form. I understand and accept the responsibility to deliver a football program that reflects the greatness of this university and I thank Gator Nation for their continued support as we begin this next chapter together.”
Florida hired Napier in 2021 after he went 40-12 in four seasons as Louisiana’s coach.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
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Bill Connelly
With four ranked-versus-ranked games on the Week 8 docket, we were guaranteed to see some good teams fall this weekend. We got more than we bargained for. No. 2 Miami lost as a 10.5-point home favorite to an unranked team. No. 7 Texas Tech (10.5-point favorite), No. 22 Memphis (21.5-point favorite) and No. 25 Nebraska (5.5-point favorite) all fell to unranked squads as well.
And in the SEC, No. 4 Texas A&M barely survived 2-4 Arkansas, while No. 16 Missouri (against 3-3 Auburn) and No. 21 Texas (against 2-3 Kentucky) needed overtime to secure road wins.
Parity has been the watchword in college football this year — the elite teams don’t seem quite as elite, and the sport’s middle class seems closer to the top of the pack than usual. It rules, frankly. Week 8 certainly reinforced that notion. It was a breathless mess from start to finish.
In times like these, it’s hard to know what teams and players you can trust. I’m here to help. After eight topsy-turvy weeks, we have at least a decent idea of teams’ ceilings and floors, so let’s talk about college football’s most — and least — trustworthy entities.
I went on an Ohio State podcast last week and revealed an ugly truth: Ohio State is annoying the hell out of me this season. Amid all the parity talk, I’m pretty sure Ryan Day’s Buckeyes are comfortably the best team in the country at the moment, but they choose to drop hints only in periodic doses. I prefer my elite teams to win games 63-0 and basically wear a giant “WE’RE ELITE” sign, but after last season’s experience — in which the Buckeyes lost late in the year to Michigan but shifted into fifth gear in four comfortable College Football Playoff wins — no one better understands that the goal is to peak in December, not October.
It would help if they had some elite opponents to look toward, but the Big Ten opponent on their schedule that was supposed to be elite (Penn State) is anything but, and the Buckeyes aren’t scheduled to play Indiana. Instead, they’ve been left to alternate between second-gear blowouts of iffy to bad teams and comfortable 18-point road wins over solid-but-unspectacular opponents such as Illinois and Washington.
Day at least let Julian Sayin throw some pitches Saturday. In front of a less-than-robust Wisconsin crowd (perhaps just hours before the inevitable firing of head coach Luke Fickell), Sayin, who averaged just 26.8 dropbacks per game in his first six starts, went 36-for-42 for 393 yards and four touchdowns. He distributed the ball to 10 receivers, though the dynamite duo of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate combined for 15 catches and 208 yards.
Wisconsin’s offense was never going to threaten the best defense in the country — the Badgers gained just 144 total yards and took just nine snaps in Ohio State territory (yards gained in those snaps: 6) — so there was no downside to stretching Sayin out a bit. He averaged only 10.9 yards per completion, and Smith is still averaging just 9.4 yards per catch and 6.9 yards per target against power-conference opponents. For that matter, the Buckeyes’ run game is producing almost no explosive plays, but one assumes the passing game will provide more than enough explosiveness if it’s ever asked to, especially as Sayin, the redshirt freshman, grows in confidence.
Of course, we might have to wait a while to confirm that. Ohio State gets a bye week, then four straight games against teams with losing records (Penn State, Purdue, UCLA, Rutgers). Three of those games are at home, and three of those opponents rank worse than 65th in SP+. Anyone craving a glimpse at fifth-gear Ohio State is probably going to have to wait at least another month.
In part because of how quickly SP+ was saying Indiana was really good in 2024, I feel like I’ve been in the front car of the Hoosiers bandwagon for a while now. And even I have found myself wondering if or when they might begin to look a bit more mortal, to drop a hint that they might be dealing with extra pressure and expectations. It would be normal and forgivable if it happened, and when Aidan Chiles and Nick Marsh connected to give Michigan State a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter in front of 55,165 in Bloomington, I thought we might be encountering such a moment.
Nope. The Hoosiers ripped off a 75-yard touchdown drive, forced a punt, drove 80 yards for another touchdown and, after a halftime weather delay, drove 75 and 68 yards for two more touchdowns to put away a 38-13 win. Fernando Mendoza was nearly perfect once again, engineering five TD drives in five tries before a turnover on downs ended the streak early in the fourth quarter. He went 24-for-28 for 332 yards and four touchdowns, and stars Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt caught 12 passes for 185 yards and three of the scores. The Indiana defense had a poor game by its standards, allowing six Michigan State drives to finish in IU territory, but the Hoosiers still haven’t allowed more than 20 points in a game this season.
Even if your brain has been slow to completely grasp this — mine evidently has, despite my best efforts — there’s absolutely no reason to think of Indiana as anything but an elite team that will play like an elite team most of the time. And if that remains true, then go ahead and pencil the Hoosiers into the Big Ten championship game: Their five remaining games are against three teams ranked 65th or worse in SP+ and two (Maryland and Penn State) who are a combined 0-7 since Week 4.
We entered Week 8 with five teams looking at odds of 25% or higher to finish 12-0: Ohio State, Texas Tech, Indiana, Memphis and Miami. Three of them lost; the other two — Ohio State (now 49%) and Indiana (45%) — are on a collision course to meet in Indianapolis.
Don’t trust: The ACC
All of it. The entire conference is untrustworthy at this point. There were eight games involving ACC teams in Week 8; four produced upsets, three on the favorite’s home field, and two others nearly did. Stanford beat Florida State as a 17.5-point underdog, Louisville (+10.5) won at Miami, SMU (+5.5) won at Clemson in a game altered by multiple quarterback injuries and Georgia Tech (+3.5) won at Duke 27-18 in a game impacted heavily by a 95-yard Omar Daniels fumble return score.
0:48
Omar Daniels takes Duke fumble 95 yards to the house
Georgia Tech strikes first as Omar Daniels recovers a Duke fumble and returns it 95 yards for the touchdown.
Oh yeah, and Cal nearly lost as an 8.5-point home favorite against previously hapless North Carolina, and Virginia (-16.5) needed a late Washington State implosion to beat the Cougars 22-20 at home. In all, only Pitt’s 30-13 win over Syracuse — the Panthers have genuinely gone to a new level since installing freshman Mason Heintschel at quarterback (though he admittedly didn’t do much Saturday) — and collapsing Boston College’s 38-23 loss to UConn produced what you might call expected outcomes, though UConn’s winning margin was larger than anticipated.
As one would expect, such a wacky week shuffled the conference title odds a good amount.
ACC title odds, per SP+:
Georgia Tech (7-0, 4-0 ACC): 26.9% (up 9.2%)
Louisville (5-1, 2-1): 16.8% (up 6.5%)
Miami (5-1, 1-1): 13.4% (down 17.3%)
Virginia (6-1, 3-0): 12.9% (up 1.9%)
SMU (5-2, 3-0): 12.9% (up 5.8%)
Pitt (5-2, 3-1): 8.3% (up 2.5%)
Duke (4-3, 3-1): 7.3% (down 7.7%)
Cal (5-2, 2-1): 1.0% (up 0.4%)
SP+ pinpointed Miami as more of a top-15 team than an elite one weeks ago, and as such, the Hurricanes could struggle in road trips against SMU (which has won three in a row) and the aforementioned Pitt in a series that has produced upsets in five of the past nine meetings. Louisville’s offense isn’t quite trustworthy yet, but the Cardinals have only one more SP+ top-40 opponent on the schedule (No. 37 SMU).
Virginia and SMU still have mulligans to spend — both are unbeaten in conference play — as does Georgia Tech, which remains unbeaten overall and has moved into the ACC driver’s seat. But as fun as the Tech story is, it’s hard to trust the Yellow Jackets, who, despite having not yet faced an SP+ top-40 team, have needed three one-score victories to remain unbeaten and rank only 29th in points per drive on offense and 53rd on defense. They’re 28th in SP+, behind Miami and Louisville and only narrowly ahead of Pitt, SMU and a quickly deteriorating Florida State.
Translation: This race probably has a few more plot twists to go. The spirit of the ACC Coastal division lives. Trust no one.
For what I believe was the first time since it expanded to 16 teams last year, the SEC had eight conference games going on the same Saturday. Two went to overtime, and others were decided by two, three, seven and eight points.
When we talk about parity in college football, we’re directing a lot of that at the SEC. It currently doesn’t have a team within six points of Ohio State in the SP+ ratings, but its top 10 teams are within five points of each other. All are ranked between fifth and 19th nationally, and even with Alabama bolting out ahead of the pack, we’re still looking at eight teams with at least a 5% chance at the conference title.
SEC title odds, per SP+:
Alabama (6-1, 4-0 SEC): 25.8% (up 7.0%)
Texas A&M (7-0, 4-0): 17.6% (up 3.1%)
Georgia (6-1, 4-1): 13.9% (up 3.4%)
Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1): 10.4% (up 2.7%)
Texas (5-2, 2-1): 7.7% (up 1.2%)
Missouri (6-1, 2-1): 7.4% (up 1.5%)
Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1): 7.1% (down 9.1%)
Vanderbilt (6-1, 2-1): 5.5% (up 1.8%)
Alabama indeed eased out in front thanks to Saturday’s 37-20 win over Tennessee. Who knows how the game might have played out if Zabien Brown hadn’t picked off a Joey Aguilar pass at the goal line and taken it 99 yards for a touchdown as the first half expired — instead of a 16-14 or 16-10 halftime lead for Bama, it was 23-7. But the Tide once again got the two things they have come to rely on: red zone stops from the defense and just the right plays from Ty Simpson.
In Bama’s current run of four straight wins over ranked foes, opposing teams have scored touchdowns on just seven of 14 red zone trips, with three turnovers, a turnover on downs and only one field goal among the seven failures. The Tide are just 58th in yards allowed per play and 66th in success rate allowed, but they’re 22nd in scoring defense. That’s a tenuous balance, and we’ll see what happens against Oklahoma or anyone they might face in the SEC championship game or CFP, but it’s working well for now.
It works even better since they know they’ll get what they need from Simpson. That Week 1 defeat at Florida State grows more baffling by the week, but since then Simpson ranks seventh in Total QBR with a 74% completion rate, a 16-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio and a 52% success rate on third and fourth down (national average on those downs: 40%). He’s also the only guy this season who has outdueled Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. Simpson has earned our trust, although I’m still willing to cast a suspicious glance toward the defense.
Trust: Georgia’s toughness
I’m also struggling to trust quite a few aspects of Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs. They struggled to run efficiently against either of the two good defenses they’ve faced, they continue to lack in the big-play department, and while they’ve played against three top-15 offenses, per SP+, we still expect a Smart defense to rank higher than 49th in points allowed per drive or 48th in success rate allowed.
Still, you have to admire the Dawgs’ flair for the moment. They spotted Tennessee a 14-point lead in the first quarter, Auburn a 10-point lead in the first, Alabama a 14-point lead in the second and Ole Miss a nine-point lead in the third, and yet, the only team they lost to was Bama. (And it looked like they were going to win that one, too, until Bama’s defensive red zone magic struck.) Against Auburn’s awesome defense in Week 7, they eventually figured out a way to eke out 20 points and a road win; against Ole Miss’ awesome offense in Week 8, they allowed five straight touchdowns to start the game but stayed within pecking distance and then suddenly locked the Rebels all the way down. Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss went 1-for-10 passing during a fourth quarter in which Georgia outgained the Rebels 143-13 and outscored them 17-0. The result: yet another comeback win 43-35.
When the Bulldogs need to score 40-plus, they do it. When they need to hold an opponent to 10, they do it. It would be awfully boring if, in this year of epic SEC parity — when Texas A&M, Missouri, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt all have at least a puncher’s chance at the crown — we got another Georgia-Bama conference title game. But it’s pretty damn hard to think we won’t at this point, isn’t it?
Don’t trust: Arch Manning and Texas’ offense
I called Ohio State’s defense the best in the country above, and I certainly believe it is. SP+, however, still leans toward Texas, which held the Buckeyes to 14 points in the season opener and has allowed only one opponent to score more than that. The Longhorns rank fourth in points allowed per drive and 10th in yards allowed per play — quite possibly the second-best defense in the sport to my eyes.
Despite the defense, however, and despite a potentially key tiebreaker win over Oklahoma last week, Texas is only fifth on the SEC title odds list above, just ahead of Missouri and behind those Sooners. You already know the reason, of course: an offense that ranks 74th in yards per play, 88th in points per drive, 101st in success rate (80th rushing, 110th passing) and 116th in percentage of plays gaining zero or negative yards. On 46.5% of their pass attempts this season, they’d have been as well or better off just spiking the ball into the ground; that “spike factor” ranks 120th.
I don’t bring this up to heap further scorn on Arch Manning, or at least not to specifically do that. The preseason Heisman favorite hasn’t gotten any of the help he needed this season, and he certainly didn’t in Saturday night’s 16-13 win over Kentucky. His running backs averaged 3.3 yards per carry in Lexington, and his first 25 pass attempts produced just eight completions and three sacks. He did complete four straight short passes late, but Texas gained just 179 yards against a Wildcats defense that allowed 461 yards to Eastern Michigan in mid-September.
The Longhorns survived when Kentucky foolishly called two straight halfback dives into the teeth of Texas’ enormous defensive line and turned the ball over on downs in overtime, setting up Mason Shipley’s game-winning field goal. But this offense is still failing to clear an increasingly low bar. It has underachieved against SP+ projections in five of seven games and needed a special teams touchdown to overachieve its projection against Oklahoma last week.
No matter how good the defense may be, it’s going to face four of the nation’s top 15 offenses (per SP+) in its last five games, and the offense is going to face three defenses that grade out better than Kentucky’s. If it can’t help Manning, and Manning can’t help himself and start to improve — a hard thing to do midstream, especially when your issues seem to be pretty fundamental things such as footwork, pocket timing and accuracy — then how exactly does Texas end up with a playoff résumé? Things could be worse; the Horns could have easily lost to UK. But it’s hard to see things getting much better.
I’m not sure my trust is going to be enough. At 5-2 with no serious résumé-building win opportunities left, it sure seems like Notre Dame will be at or near the bottom of a pile of hypothetical two-loss teams even if it gets to 10-2 at the end of the regular season. There’s no shame in losing to Miami and Texas A&M — teams that are a combined 12-1 — by four combined points, as the Irish did, and their list of quality wins just isn’t going to end up being all that impressive even if USC, Saturday night’s victim, keeps playing well.
For this conversation, however, that doesn’t really matter. All that matters is that this is one of the five best teams in the country right now, and I’m growing to trust the Irish considerably. (Well, everything but their place-kicking anyway.) They’ve overachieved against SP+ projections over the last five games by an average of 14.9 points. And even though quarterback CJ Carr had a poor game Saturday — 16-for-26 for 136 yards, a TD, an interception, a sack and a 32.8 Total QBR — they still overachieved against their offensive projections thanks to a 228-yard rushing performance from Jeremiyah Love, his first genuine breakout game of the year, and an 87-yard performance with a kick return score from backup Jadarian Price.
Combine a high-end offense with a defense that seems to have completely solved itself over the last month, and you’ve got a hell of a team. After allowing 32.7 points per game in Chris Ash’s first three games as coordinator, the Irish have since allowed just 12.8 per game despite playing USC (first in offensive SP+), Arkansas (fifth) and Boise State (25th), and despite dealing with injuries to stars such as corner Leonard Moore and tackle Gabriel Rubio. USC had scored at least 31 points in every game before Saturday and came to South Bend averaging 8.3 yards per play; the Trojans managed just 24 points and 5.6 yards per play against the Irish.
Thanks primarily to the early defensive struggles, the Irish were 21st in SP+ after three games. They’re now sixth after seven games. Only one remaining game is projected within 17 points, per SP+, and if they make the CFP they could do some serious damage. We’ll have to see what fate has in store in that regard.
This week in SP+
The SP+ rankings have been updated for the week. Let’s take a look at the teams that saw the biggest change in their overall ratings. (Note: We’re looking at ratings, not rankings.)
Moving up
Here are the five teams that saw their ratings rise the most this week:
Temple: up 4.5 adjusted points per game (ranking rose from 88th to 72nd)
Florida International: up 4.3 points (from 130th to 124th)
James Madison: up 3.6 points (from 59th to 47th)
Central Michigan: up 3.5 points (from 125th to 114th)
Oregon State: up 3.5 points (from 114th to 106th)
After losing to Delaware and UConn by a combined 89-26, FIU unleashed a nearly perfect performance out of nowhere Tuesday, heading up to Western Kentucky and winning 25-6. James Madison, meanwhile, knocked Old Dominion out in a delightful Saturday slugfest, scoring 42 straight points to turn a 27-21 deficit into a 63-27 rout.
But we need to talk about Temple for a second: The Owls hadn’t topped three wins since 2019, watching their meticulously rebuilt program crumble to the ground in the 2020s. But then they hired KC Keeler. It might have been the best hire of last offseason. The 66-year-old has them at 4-3 following Saturday’s 49-14 blowout of Charlotte.
Temple hasn’t had the athleticism to keep up with high-level power-conference opponents — Oklahoma and Georgia Tech beat the Owls by a combined 87-27 — but against teams in their weight class, they’re 4-1, having overachieved against SP+ projections by an average of 19.4 points and having lost only to unbeaten Navy in the last minute. What a turnaround.
Here are the five power-conference teams that rose the most:
Minnesota: up 3.1 points (from 57th to 49th)
UCF: up 3.0 points (from 58th to 51st)
Cincinnati: up 1.8 points (from 30th to 25th)
Stanford: up 1.7 points (from 108th to 101st)
North Carolina: up 1.6 points (from 103rd to 98th)
Minnesota sure does love playing Nebraska. The Gophers pummeled the Huskers on Friday night 24-6 to move to 5-2 on the season. Without that ghastly egg-laying loss at Cal in Week 3, they’d be ranked and looking at a potential 9-3 finish or so.
Moving down
Here are the 10 teams whose ratings fell the most:
UTSA: down 5.0 adjusted points per game (ranking fell from 61st to 71st)
Tennessee: down 4.0 points (from 11th to 18th)
Rutgers: down 3.8 points (from 50th to 67th)
Nebraska: down 3.7 points (from 20th to 26th)
West Virginia: down 3.6 points (from 80th to 97th)
Memphis: down 3.5 points (from 24th to 30th)
Northern Illinois: down 3.3 points (from 118th to 127th)
South Carolina: down 3.3 points (from 40th to 52nd)
USC: down 2.9 points (from 14th to 16th)
Clemson: down 2.8 points (from 39th to 46th)
There’s no great shame in losing at Alabama, but Tennessee’s slippage here has been a long time coming: The Vols have now underachieved against projections for five straight games, and they’ve done so by double digits in each of the past two. The defense, which finished sixth in defensive SP+ last season, has underachieved in every game and is down to 44th, and while the offense propped the Vols up for a while, it has also underachieved the past two weeks. Continued underachievement at that level would put them in danger of losing at Kentucky this coming week.
Who won the Heisman this week?
I am once again awarding the Heisman every single week of the season and doling out weekly points, F1-style (in this case, 10 points for first place, nine for second, and so on). How will this Heisman race play out, and how different will the result be from the actual Heisman voting?
Here is this week’s Heisman top 10:
1. Gunner Stockton, Georgia (26-for-31 passing for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 59 non-sack rushing yards and a touchdown against Ole Miss).
2. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana (24-for-28 passing for 332 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 18 non-sack rushing yards against Michigan State).
3. Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame (24 carries for 228 yards and a touchdown, plus 37 receiving yards against USC).
4. Julian Sayin, Ohio State (36-for-42 passing for 393 yards and 4 touchdowns against Wisconsin).
5. Alonza Barnett III, James Madison (17-for-25 passing for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 165 non-sack rushing yards and 4 TDs against Old Dominion).
6. Taylen Green, Arkansas (19-for-32 passing for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus 131 non-sack rushing yards and 2 TDs against Texas A&M).
7. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt (14-for-22 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown, plus 94 non-sack rushing yards and 2 TDs against LSU).
8. Colin Simmons, Texas (4 tackles, 3 sacks and 1 forced fumble against Kentucky).
9. Dylan Riley, Boise State (15 carries for 201 yards and a touchdown against UNLV).
10. Haynes King, Georgia Tech (14-for-21 passing for 205 yards, plus 120 non-sack rushing yards and a touchdown against Duke).
It was tempting to just give each of the top three names a share of No. 1 for the week. Love’s domination of USC was vital to Notre Dame’s playoff hopes (and really fun to watch), and Mendoza was ridiculous yet again — his Total QBR has now topped 90.0 in four of the past five games, and he’s completing 74% of his passes with a 21-to-2 TD-to-INT ratio. Kurtis Rourke was so good for the Hoosiers last season, and Mendoza is raising the bar.
I had to give No. 1 to Stockton, though. He had to be great for the Dawgs to keep up with Ole Miss, and when the Georgia defense finally showed up, Stockton raised his game even further. Awesome stuff.
Honorable mention:
Byrum Brown, USF (14-for-24 passing for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus 123 non-sack rushing yards and a TD against Florida Atlantic).
Zabien Brown, Alabama (seven tackles and a 99-yard pick-six against Tennessee).
Anthony Hankerson, Oregon State (25 carries for 204 yards and 4 touchdowns against Lafayette).
Caleb Hawkins, North Texas (18 carries for 133 yards, plus 90 receiving yards against UTSA).
Brad Jackson, Texas State (26-for-38 passing for 444 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, plus 77 non-sack rushing yards and a TD against Marshall).
Nick Minicucci, Delaware (32-for-50 passing for 422 yards and a touchdown, plus 20 non-sack rushing yards against Jacksonville State).
Dante Moore, Oregon (15-for-20 passing for 290 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT, plus 49 non-sack rushing yards against Rutgers).
Kejon Owens, Florida International (22 carries for 195 yards and a touchdown, plus seven receiving yards against Western Kentucky).
(By the way, a quick shoutout to Curry College’s Montie Quinn, who broke the Division III record with 522 rushing yards … on 20 carries! The Colonels beat Nichols 71-27, and his seven touchdowns alone gained 399 yards, including jaunts of 85, 84, 76, 64 and 58 yards.)
Through eight weeks, here are your points leaders:
1. Ty Simpson, Alabama (29 points)
2. Taylen Green, Arkansas (27)
3T. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana (19)
3T. Gunner Stockton, Georgia (19)
3T. Demond Williams Jr., Washington (19)
6T. Luke Altmyer, Illinois (16)
6T. Julian Sayin, Ohio State (16)
8. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (15)
9. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt (14)
10. Jayden Maiava, USC (12)
For the first time all season, the points race and the current Heisman betting odds have begun to match up. Six of the above names are also in the top 10 per ESPN BET: Mendoza (No. 1 betting favorite), Simpson (No. 2), Sayin (No. 3), Stockton (No. 5), Pavia (No. 8) and Chambliss (No. 9T).
My 10 favorite games of the weekend
1 and 2. Stanford 20, Florida State 13 and California 21, North Carolina 18 (Friday). We had matching last-minute goal-line stands in the Bay Area, though Stanford-FSU gets the edge for adding in a mini-Hail Mary (to get to the Stanford 9 with two seconds left) and an untimed down following a pass interference call (which followed an errant snap). And are we sure Gavin Sawchuk didn’t make it to the end zone? One of the most unique finishes you’ll see.
W under the lights 🌲
Stanford held on for a 20-13 win over FSU, sealing it with a goal-line stop. Cole Tabb and CJ Williams came up big on offense@StanfordFball | @GoStanford | #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/cFJMlnHbnn
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) October 19, 2025
Cal, meanwhile, merely forced a fumble millimeters before the end zone with four minutes left. Boring.
0:48
Cal forces UNC fumble at the goal line for a touchback
Cal’s Brent Austin punches the ball out of Nathan Leacock’s hands at the goal line to force a fumble and subsequent touchback.
3. FCS: East Texas A&M 52, Incarnate Word 45. With 6:45 left, East Texas A&M took its first lead 45-42 after trailing by as many as 21 earlier in the game.
With 1:55 left, UIW’s Will Faris hit a 57-yard field goal to tie the game at 45-45.
With 0:27 left, ETAMU not only scored the winning points but did so with one of the most physical runs of the week.
EJ OAKMON POWERS HIS WAY!! @LIONS_FB LEADS UIW WITH 27 SECONDS TO PLAY! pic.twitter.com/7Efeaclppo
— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) October 19, 2025
Hot damn, EJ Oakmon.
4. Louisville 24, No. 2 Miami 21 (Friday). Louisville’s offense hasn’t carried its weight at times this year, but the Cardinals scripted out two early touchdowns and got a beautiful, 36-yard burst from Chris Bell. The defense took it from there. T.J. Capers‘ interception — the Cardinals’ fourth of Carson Beck — clinched the upset and sent the ACC race into chaos.
5. FCS: Lamar 23, UT Rio Grande Valley 21. UT Rio Grande Valley is 5-2 in its debut season; the Vaqueros have acquitted themselves well, and they almost took down a ranked Lamar team in Beaumont with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. But Ben Woodard nailed a 57-yard field goal with 1:03 left, and Mar Mar Evans picked off a desperate Eddie Lee Marburger pass with 14 seconds left. Lamar survived.
6. No. 9 Georgia 43, No. 5 Ole Miss 35. I almost just assumed that Ole Miss would score late and send this one to overtime. Alas. A heavyweight matchup in a heavyweight environment.
7. Tulane 24, Army 17. I reflexively made the Chris Berman “WHOOOP” sound when this happened.
Look at this catch by @shazzpreston7!!!#RollWave 🌊 pic.twitter.com/Ufc4nUZ7lq
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) October 18, 2025
8. Arizona State 26, No. 7 Texas Tech 22. Texas Tech backup quarterback Will Hammond finally looked like a backup, but the Red Raiders overcame a number of miscues to take the lead with two minutes left, only for ASU to respond with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by Raleek Brown‘s last-minute touchdown.
9. TCU 42, Baylor 36. One of many games with lengthy weather delays, this one almost saw a three-minute, 21-point comeback. TCU led 42-21, but Keaton Thomas returned a fumble for a touchdown, Sawyer Robertson completed a 35-yard touchdown to Kole Wilson, and Baylor recovered an onside kick with 30 seconds left. But Namdi Obiazor picked Robertson off near midfield, and the Horned Frogs survived.
10. UAB 31, No. 22 Memphis 24. You get points for creativity, Memphis. After Greg Desrosiers Jr. had his game-tying, 41-yard touchdown disallowed — replay determined he was down just short of the goal line — Memphis proceeded to commit two false starts and a delay of game, and backup quarterback AJ Hill‘s fourth-down pass to Cortez Braham Jr. was incomplete by inches. I’ve never seen a team lose a game like that.
11. Division II: Benedict 31, Edward Waters 27.
12. UCLA 20, Maryland 17.
14. FCS: Chattanooga 42, ETSU 38.
15. Marshall 40, Texas State 37 (2OT).
16. No. 16 Missouri 23, Auburn 17 (OT).
18. Division III: No. 14 John Carroll 31, No. 11 DePauw 27.
19. NAIA: Faulkner 36, Cumberlands 35.
20. Florida 23, Mississippi State 21
It says a lot about the week that we had two SEC overtime games, and neither made the top 15.
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