By Logan Starkey
College football has officially reached the halfway mark of the season. As always, it has been a wild ride.
Vanderbilt reached the top ten in the AP poll. Florida State started the season unranked, reached the top ten, and is once again unranked. Texas and Penn State started the season ranked one and two, and now are both outside the top 25. Indiana is ranked number 2.
Deshaun Foster, James Franklin, Trent Dilfer, and Bill Napier have joined the unemployment line.
Between all the chaos, college football has delivered some incredible individual performances. But who’s performed the best?
Eighteen Rock Solid Sports correspondents came together to vote on who they believe would win awards if the season ended today. Who’s the Heisman? What about the Biletnikoff? The “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year?
Let’s find out.
Note: Voting was done prior to the Week 9 CFB slate
Heisman – Most Outstanding Player AND Davey O’Brien – Most Outstanding QB
Winner: Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (10/18 votes)
Even including the upset loss to Florida State, Simpson has been nearly unimpeachable.
He’s thrown just one interception on the season, in a 30-14 over No. 10 Vanderbilt. He’s the only quarterback who’s top ten in passing yards with one interception or less.
It isn’t because he’s playing conservatively. Alabama hasn’t had a reliable run game all season. The Tide’s 118.9 yards per game places them outside of the top 100. He’s played aggressively, passing at least 29 times in all but one game, against top-tier defenses like Georgia and Missouri.
It feels like every time Simpson drops back, you could see an elite-level pass. He’s made so many of them just halfway through this season.
Others receiving votes, Heisman: Fernando Mendoza (5), Diego Pavia, Trinidad Chambliss, Rueben Bain Jr.
Other Receiving Votes, Davey O’Brien: Fernando Mendoza (7), Trinidad Chambliss
Chuck Bednarik – Most Outstanding Defensive Player AND Ted Hendricks – Most Outstanding Edge Rusher
Winner: Rueben Bain Jr., DE, Miami (Bednarik – 6/18, Hendricks – 9/18)
Bain wreaks havoc at a level that stats can’t explain. Teams double Bain every single week and yet he almost always makes a play. He has just two sacks on the year, but his run defense is impeccable. Miami is a top 15 total defense on the year, and it mostly relies on their elite run defense. Their elite defense is almost reliant on the individual ability of Bain. He’s a game wrecker at the highest level.
Others receiving votes, Bednarik: Caleb Downs (4), Jacob Rodriguez (2), Arion Carter, Arvell Reese, Bishop Fitzgerald, Cashius Howell, David Bailey
Others receiving votes, Hendricks: David Bailey (7), Cashius Howell, Caden Curry
Jim Thorpe – Most Outstanding DB
Winner: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State (8/18)
Ohio State’s pass defense is the third-best in the country. Downs is why. The amount of field Downs can cover when breaking on a pass is incredible. He doesn’t have a pass defended on the year, but it’s because he uses his tackling ability to break up passes rather than swatting them. He doesn’t go for the ball; he hits, and hard.
Downs’ ability to play up in the run game is unmatched by any other safety in college football. He has 2 TFLs on the year, and a host of other tackles near the line of scrimmage in run defense.
Others receiving votes: Bishop Fitzgerald (2), Mansoor Delane (2), Chrtsian Gray, D’Angelo Ponds, Hezekiah Masses, Koi Perich Leonard Moore, Robert Fitzgerald
Paul “Bear” Bryant – Coach of the Year
Curt Cignetti, Indiana (11/18)
Is it any surprise that Cignetti is the coach of the year? Indiana is a top-2 team in the country. They’re considered top threats to win the national championship. If you were to tell that to even the most brazen Hoosier fantastic two years ago, they’d have assumed you were insane.
He’s changed the program in two years. They beat Oregon in Eugene. Fernando Mendoza is poised to be the first overall pick. Indiana is one of the best football programs in the country. Hats off to Cignetti, he’s altered college football.
Others receiving votes: Clark Lea (2), Mike Elko (2), Jeff Brohm, Ryan Day, Kalen Deboer
Doak Walker – Most Outstanding RB
Ahmad Hardy, RB, Missouri (13/18)
973 yards. 11 touchdowns. Hardy has reached the century mark in five of seven games. He’s dominant on the ground. He ran for 250 and three scores against UMass. He runs linebackers over. He jukes defensive backs out of their shoes. Everything that you can ask a running back to do after the handoff, Hardy can and has done it this season.
Others receiving votes: Jeremiyah Love (4), Robert Henry
Dick Butkus – Most Outstanding Limebacker
Winner: Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State (3/18)
It’s the biggest vote split on the ballot, with Reese winning by just three votes.
For Reese, versatility is where he made his name. He’s an excellent pass rusher, tallying 5.5 sacks on the season. He’s great in run coverage, totaling 6.5 TFLs thus far on the season and leading the Buckeyes in tackles. Ryan Day’s defense loves to drop him back in coverage, and his two pass deflections prove he can more than hold his own there as well.
Reese has become the captain in the middle of the best defense in college football. Rush the passer, stop the run, and playing coverage is a big ask at an elite school, but Reese does all three excellently.
Others receiving votes: Anthony Hill (2), Sonny Styles (2), Caden Fordham (2), Jacob Rodriguez (2), Taurean York, CJ Allen, Red Murdock, Demarco Ward, David Bailey, Arion Carter, Brandon Miyazono
Biletnikoff – Most Outstanding WR
Winner: Makai Lemon, WR, USC (5/18)
No player has raised their draft stock quite like Lemon this year. Over the entirety of last season he secured 52 catches for 764 yards and three scores. Through just seven games, he has 48 catches for 758 yards and six touchdowns.
Lemon’s highlights include an incredible one-handed touchdown catch and torching then-ranked Illinois for over 150 yards and two touchdowns. He’s the only Power Four receiver to be in the top five in receiving yards this season.
Others receiving votes: Chris Brazzell (3), Jeremiah Smith (3), Elijah Sarrat (2), Danny Scuredo (2), Jordan Tyson (2), Mario Craver
John Mackey – Most Outstanding TE
Winner: Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt
Stowers is a machine. He’s a great pass catcher and Vandy’s leading receiver up to this point.
What the stat sheet won’t tell you is that he is the crux of Clark Lea’s run game. He is an elite blocker in both pass protection and run blocking. Lea’s entire offense involves getting Stowers out in space to block for Diego Pavia and Sedrick Alexander. It is rare for the Commodores to run to the opposite side of the field from where Stowers lines up.
Others receiving votes: Michael Trigg (5), Kenyon Sadiq (4), Dae’Quan Wright (2), Terrance Carter Jr.
Outland – Most Outstanding Trench Player
Winner: Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama (5/18)
More than likely, Proctor will be the first offensive lineman taken in the 2026 NFL draft. If you have watched an Alabama game this year, it is obvious why.
No one gets pressure on Proctor. He’s dominant in the run game. He’s simply the best blocker in both the run and pass game in the country.
Even more importantly, he caught a screen pass.
Others receiving votes: Spencer Fano (3), Carson Hinzman (2), Reuben Bain (2), Bear Alexander, Brian Parker II, Carter Smith, Langston Hardy, Madame Tucker