B/R's College Football Weekly Awards: 2023-24 Season
Michigan's win over Washington in the national championship put the final touches on the 2023 college football season, so it's only fitting we follow suit.
Throughout the campaign, I regaled you with terrible jokes, bizarre headlines and under-the-radar stories. I'm certain a piece of your sports brain will feel a little empty without all of that in the offseason, along with the serious topics, big upsets, highlight-reel plays and impressive box scores that B/R's Weekly Awards also covered in 2023.
Or you're relieved to be done with me. Fair is fair.
After the national championship marked the final weekly edition of the season, we'll be wrapping up the finer points of the season, As always, mostly serious...but not completely.
Unfortunately, however, Michigan's whole "let's finish undefeated" thing was super-annoying and means we don't have a transitive national champion for the second straight year.
Better luck next season, I guess.
One sign-stealing controversy, two suspensions for Jim Harbaugh and three cheers for the Michigan Wolverines.
In what will be remembered as a bizarre year, the Maize and Blue dealt with plenty of self-inflicted adversity yet emerged undefeated. They rode an overwhelming defense and a strong running game to a third straight Big Ten crown and the program's first national title in 26 years.
Along the way, now-former staff member Connor Stalions became an iconic part of this very silly sport.
There are so many other moments to remember.
The offense ran zero (non-nullified) passing plays during the second half of a win at Penn State. Michigan beat Ohio State for a third consecutive year before clipping Alabama in overtime at the Rose Bowl and surging past Washington in the national championship.
Especially if head coach Harbaugh leaves for the NFL, Michigan's wild 2023 season will hold a fascinating place in history.
Texas is not back. Texas is, however, dangerously close.
After the College Football Playoff era began in 2014, the Longhorns had three straight seven-loss seasons. Tom Herman replaced Charlie Strong and sparked the program, which won 10 games in 2018 when Sam Ehlinger announced "we're ba-aack!" despite Texas not winning the Big 12.
Texas was, in fact, not back.
Herman went 8-5 and 7-3 in the following years, leading to Steve Sarkisian's hire in 2021. His debut was a 5-7 disaster, and an 8-5 record in 2022 didn't exactly calm many fears, either.
But the Horns, armed with a healthy Quinn Ewers and a tremendous run defense, made their long-awaited ascent in 2023. The program beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa and celebrated its first Big 12 title in 14 years—coincidentally, as Texas prepares to leave the conference for the SEC in 2024.
Texas has long boasted a talented roster that consistently fell shy of expectations. Officially, the Horns must be taken seriously.
Back in September, the Alabama Crimson Tide had a serious problem. They demolished Middle Tennessee in the opener but lost to Texas as Jalen Milroe completed just 14-of-27 passes and tossed two interceptions.
The following week, neither Tyler Buchner nor Ty Simpson played all that well in a shaky victory at USF as Milroe watched from the sideline.
It seemed Bama had no answer at quarterback.
Milroe, however, ascended from a brief benching to one of the nation's more dangerous QBs. He led the Crimson Tide to an SEC championship and a controversial spot in the College Football Playoff. He threw for 2,834 yards, rushed for 531 and totaled 35 touchdowns.
Without his unexpected rise, it's quite likely Nick Saban's final season—if, perhaps, he retired at all—would not have included one final SEC trophy and CFP trip.
Climbing the competitive ladder in any sport is very difficult. The 2023 season offered a clear reminder of that challenge.
Two programs—Jacksonville State and Sam Houston—made their debuts in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Both achieved plenty of recent success in the Football Championship Subdivision, yet the campaigns could hardly have gone much differently.
Led by former West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez, Jacksonville State posted a 9-4 record and capped the season with a win over Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl.
Sam Houston, on the other hand, mustered a 3-9 mark after dropping eight straight games to begin the year.
Building an annual winner is a task arduous enough on its own. Trying to sustain that while leaping to the FBS is even tougher.
Good luck in 2024, Kennesaw State.
What a cruel chapter to end the Pac-12's story.
Entering the 2023 season, the conference hadn't sent a team to the College Football Playoff since Washington in 2016. Oregon otherwise had been the league's lone representative in 2014.
Fast-forward four months, and national runner-up Washington went 14-1. Oregon presumably would have been in the CFP had it defeated UW in the Pac-12 Championship Game but still finished 12-2 with a commanding victory over Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl.
Arizona captured a 10-win season. Oregon State assembled a quality eight-win year, and Utah matched that total despite quarterback Cam Rising's season-long absence.
Eight programs from the Pac-12 attained bowl eligibility, the conference's highest number since 2017.
While the Pac-12 didn't officially go out on top—looking at you, Michigan—the league put a truly memorable product on the field in what, at the very least, is the final version of its traditional mold.
Virginia opened the 2023 season with low outside expectations, so it's not a surprise the Cavaliers ended 3-9.
The schedule, though, featured a consistent theme.
Virginia played 11 games against FBS foes, and all 11 of them reached the postseason. The wildest part is UVA even missed Clemson and Florida State, yet each of the Wahoos' eight conference foes made a bowl. The team's nonconference slate included Tennessee, James Madison and Maryland, too.
On one hand, playing the Cavaliers certainly helped a few of those opponents. Boston College, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech each picked up a victory over UVA and finished with six regular-seasons wins, the minimum needed to ensure bowl eligibility.
Nevertheless, what an inglorious honor for Virginia.
Breakouts of the Year: The Cat Teams
Florida State and Washington deserve applause, but they hit double-digit wins in 2022. The true breakout teams of the campaign were the Missouri Tigers and Arizona Wildcats. Last year, the programs went 6-7 and 5-7, respectively; this year, Missouri jumped to 11-2 with a Cotton Bowl triumph while Arizona closed the season at 10-3. Both schools reached those totals for only the fourth time in program history.
Underdog of the Year: New Mexico State Aggies
In 2021, the Aggies trudged to a 2-10 record. Jerry Kill took the reins and engineered a stellar two-year turnaround. No team recorded more wins as a road underdog than New Mexico State, which enjoyed four such victories in a remarkable 10-5 year. Most memorably, the Aggies went into Jordan-Hare and stomped Auburn 31-10. They also reached the Conference USA Championship Game. Kill, who resigned after the season, turned a cellar-dweller into a respected program.
Golf Clap of the Year: You, the Reader
You unwillingly put up with me yet again, but I extend my sincere thanks. You're zipping around the college football landscape via the dangerous place that is my brain, and my brand of humor isn't for everyone. (My wife rolls her eyes at me, too.) Thanks for following this beautiful, chaotic, ridiculous sport alongside us. Same time next fall.
