The best teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision are beginning to create some separation from the rest of the pack as the regular season turns to conference play. The same can be said of the nation’s best players.

The Heisman Trophy race has identified a handful of top contenders, starting with Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Likewise for postseason awards handed out to individual positions, such as the Biletnikoff, Doak Walker and several others.

The end of the first month of the 2018 season is a good time to take stock of the chase for national hardware. Here’s how the major awards are shaking out entering the final Saturday of September:

Heisman Trophy

Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama. The sophomore has tossed 14 touchdowns through five games without an interception while making just 19 pass attempts in the second half and none in the fourth quarter. He ranks second nationally in completion percentage, second in yards per attempt and first in efficiency rating. He also plays for the nation’s best team. It’s a good recipe for a Heisman win. Tagovailoa has the edge over Penn State’s Trace McSorley, West Virginia’s Will Grier, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, to name a few.

HEISMAN WATCH:Penn State's McSorley moves up behind Tagovailoa, Murray

RE-RANK:Unexpected names dot the latest top 25 after weekend shakeup

PLAYOFF PROJECTION:Ohio State and Clemson barely hold spots in field

Eddie Robinson Award (best coach)

Ed Orgeron, LSU. Alabama has been so dominant that it’s very tempting to go with Nick Saban, who never seems to get enough credit for his work with the Crimson Tide. But LSU has far exceeded expectations in starting 5-0 with wins against Miami (Fla.) and Auburn - both away from home - to reach No. 6 in this week’s Amway Coaches Poll after starting at No. 24. We’ll see it this holds, but Orgeron’s the leader after five weeks.

Bednarik (best defender)

Josh Allen, Kentucky. That Kentucky is 3-0 in SEC play for the first time since 1977 is due in no small part to the fact that no one can block Allen, who ranks third on the team in tackles to go with his 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. In Saturday’s win against South Carolina, Allen posted eight tackles, four for loss, along with three sacks and a forced fumble. Three weeks, three games, three SEC Defensive Player of the Week awards. Pretty good.

Biletnikoff (best receiver)

Laviska Shenault, Colorado. With a total of seven career receptions heading into his sophomore year, Shenault wasn’t pegged to explode in 2018. The same can be said of his team. But Shenault leads the FBS with 145.3 receiving yards per game and has accounted for six touchdowns, two on the ground, in leading Colorado through an unbeaten September.

Davey O’Brien (best quarterback)

Kyler Murray, Oklahoma. Let’s go away from Tagovailoa in favor Murray, who has been nearly as spectacular as a first-year starter. He tops Tagovailoa in yards per attempt and touchdowns while ranking just behind the Alabama sophomore in efficiency rating. As a runner, Murray has added 285 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. And football isn’t his best sport, they say.

Doak Walker (best running back)

Benny Snell, Kentucky. There’s an argument for Memphis’ Darrell Henderson, who’s been as electric as anyone, but no running back has been more key to his team’s success than Snell, who brought back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons into his junior yet still manages to slip through the cracks. Snell ranks third nationally in rushing yards and is tied for fourth in touchdowns as Kentucky has soared to No. 15 in this week’s Amway Coaches Poll.

John Mackey (best tight end)

Noah Fant, Iowa. Fant’s been just about as good as advertised in his role as half of the Hawkeyes’ outstanding tight end duo with T.J. Hockenson. In fact, Hockenson and Fant both have 15 grabs but Hockenson is averaging an additional four yards per catch. But Fant’s got four touchdowns to Hockenson’s none. Either way, the early edge for the Mackey Award goes to a tight end from Iowa.

Lou Groza (best kicker)

Dominik Eberle, Utah State. The preseason All-America pick has yet to miss on his eight field-goal attempts and had one individual games for the record books: In the Aggies’ 60-13 win against New Mexico State, Eberle set a program record with three field goals of 50 or more yards and tied the FBS record with 24 total points.

Outland Trophy (best interior lineman)

Christian Wilkins, Clemson. The numbers don’t necessarily pop off the page, though Wilkins did essentially draw a breather in the Tigers’ easy non-conference wins against Furman and Georgia Southern. But the senior has keyed what again resembles a top-five defense and stands out even among one of the most ballyhooed defensive line crews in college football history.

Jim Thorpe (best defensive back)

Deionte Thompson, Alabama. Thompson wasn’t even considered among the top defensive backs in the SEC heading into the year – that honor went to LSU’s Greedy Williams and Georgia’s DeAndre Baker. But Thompson has been superb for the Tide as a safety, making plays at or behind the line of scrimmage, intercepting two passes and even getting after the quarterback.