College football week 4 contenders, pretenders: Texas survives, Michigan's karma and coaches are sweating
KNOXVILLE, TN - It only took four weeks of action to immerse ourselves in the madness of college football, with upsets and teams already up against the ropes heading into the month of October.
Are schools already looking to make changes at the head coaching position? Sure, and some leaders might end up making the decision pretty easy for their bosses.
But what we witnessed on Saturday will go down as one of the wildest weekends of this early season, and there will be ramifications.
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Heck, Texas led Tennessee by ten points late in the fourth quarter, but had to withstand a last minute drive by the Vols to get out of Knoxville with the win. There wasn’t even a touchdown pass thrown by Arch Manning on Saturday, but the defense ended up with over ten sacks on Vols quarterback Faizon Brandon, in what felt like a Will Muschamp defensive revival.
We're only getting started on this wild weekend in college football.
Oregon lost quarterback Dante Moore to a head injury in the first half, thanks to a dirty hit. But, that did not end their hopes of beating USC. Two weeks after losing to Oklahoma State, the Ducks rolled into Southern Cal and once again left Trojan fans wondering when Lincoln Riley was going to win a few meaningful games.
We don't know when Moore will return, but backup Dylan Raiola took the reigns on Saturday night and never looked back. Throwing for over 280 yards against USC, this might be the start of Raiola's redemption tour, at least until Dante Moore returns.
But, a massive 41-27 win for the Ducks have put their season back on track, while USC fans are left wondering what else Lincoln Riley feels like putting them through.
Who would of thought before the season started that Oklahoma would already be regretting that contract extension for Brent Venables. But just four games into the 2026 season, the Sooners have a major problem on their hands, thanks in part to the 41-13 drumming by the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon in Athens.
Oh, and if you were wondering whether Ole Miss was walking into a trap this week in Gainesville after defeating LSU last weekend, I think that would be disrespecting what Jon Sumrall is doing with the Florida Gators.
A 52-28 loss on the road brought the Rebels back down to reality, with Pete Golding having to regroup his team this week after a rollercoaster two-week stretch. But make no mistake about it, the Florida Gators look nothing like the team we witnessed during the Billy Napier era.
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And, speaking of teams we thought could get things back on track in 2026, South Carolina has itself a major problem moving forward under head coach Shane Beamer. Not only were they beaten 49-18 by Alabama, the Gamecocks feel like a rudderless ship, with such high expectations for quarterback LaNorris Sellers before the season began.
Now? The Gamecocks lost their seventh-straight SEC game, and it doesn’t look any better moving forward.
Well, this is only going to make things worse in Columbia for Beamer, who had spent a good chunk of money to keep a number of stars from hitting the portal, like Dylan Stewart.
Is Kamario Taylor going to end up being the catalyst that brings Mississippi State back to college football relevance? Well, he already has, and looks darn good in the process.
The 24th ranked Bulldogs defeated No. 19 Missouri, winning their first ranked game in over a decade, with Taylor passing for over 350 yards on the night.
Look out, Alabama. The Bulldogs are waiting next week in Starkville. \
Yes, you read that right.
An Iowa Hawkeyes touchdown with only one second left on the clock left Michigan fans stunned, probably the same way Western Michigan fans felt during the week-one controversy that allowed the Wolverines to escape with a win.
Three weeks later, it was Kirk Ferentz who delivered the karma like a Taylor Swift single, which had college football fans outside of the state chuckling I'd imagine.
No, this looks nothing like a team that should be paying its quarterback Bryce Underwood over $3 million per season. In reality, this feels like a squad headed for a December bowl game, and nowhere near the Big Ten championship. At this point, maybe it would be wise for Michigan fans to start preparing for the Ohio State game to end the season, and not get their hopes up every weekend.
That win against Oklahoma also looks even worse by the week.
So, you thought Lane Kiffin would just go quiet into the night after losing to his former team last week in Oxford?
Umm, no.
Not only did LSU take out their frustration on Texas A&M, but they made it look easy in the 38-6 win. Sam Leavitt carved up the Aggies secondary, while Kiffin found himself running down the sidelines celebrating a fourth-down trick play that turned into a touchdown.
Simply put, the Tigers made Mike Elko's squad look like a mediocre SEC team without much hope moving forward. We should probably go ahead and count the Aggies out of making the College Football Playoff, while LSU looks to have gotten the 'Lane Train' back on the tracks in Baton Rouge.
Can someone explain to me how Louisville could lose at home to Wake Forest 30-27, with this squad battling for 'surprise' team of the season out of the ACC?
Well, that went up in smoke inside their own stadium.
Oh, and how could we not mention the job Luke Fickell did on Saturday, leading his Wisconsin Badgers into Happy Valley and leaving with the 24-20 win that left folks in State College shocked. People forget that Fickell didn’t just wake up and turn into a bad coach. He just hasn’t had the necessary resources in Madison.
He still might not have everything he needs to rebuild the Wisconsin football team, but they darn sure made Penn State pay for potentially looking past the Badgers.
Week four of the college football season delivered, which will setup a wild start to the month of October.
Expect anything less?