2026 College Football: Week 4 Takeaways
As we move forward this season, there will be a lot of focus on the Big Ten and SEC. Thanks to recent conference realignment moves, those two leagues are basically super-conferences at this point. I’ll do my best to squeeze in the ACC, Big XII, and Group of 6 whenever I can, but sometimes you have weeks like this one. We had SIX ranked-on-ranked matchups: 4 in the SEC and 2 in the Big Ten. One, (23) Texas A&M vs. (10) LSU, was an expected beatdown. We’ll go through the other five, as well as a couple other matchups of particular interest. Let’s see what we can learn from this slate of games in my week 4 takeaways.
(1) Texas (Barely) Handles Business Against (14) Tennessee
Nobody felt like Tennessee would get destroyed, even against the #1-ranked team. However, the consensus was that they’d need to play a nearly perfect game to win. Their effort was decidedly not perfect, yet the Volunteers nearly stole the victory anyway. Neither offense played well at all. Texas QB Arch Manning (14/19, 201 yards, INT) was mostly efficient if not productive. Tennessee’s freshman QB, Faison Brandon (17/29, 145 yards, INT) played significantly worse despite how the stat lines may appear. He held the ball way too long, threw inaccurate passes, and generally did nothing to help his team.
Brandon’s performance wasn’t all on him though. The Longhorns’ defense was insane, particularly with their pass rush. I’m calling them the Sackhorns because they took Brandon down TEN times. Yes, ten! Even more impressively, edge rusher Colin Simmons earned 5 sacks on his own. It’s very easy to see why he’s expected to be a high first-round pick next April. When you play that well, people have to forgive you for committing…ahem…a certain penalty. Regardless of how well the defense performed, Texas’ own offense couldn’t pull away. In fact, Tennessee tied the game at 10 on a 57-yard PR TD by returner Qua Moss.
To their credit, Texas did score 10 unanswered points in the second half, mostly on the back of RB Raleek Brown (17/67/2). Once the clock reached 5:00, the game felt over due to the Volunteers’ offensive ineptitude. They wouldn’t fade though. Tennessee’s defense forced a 3-and-out, and the offense took advantage of a terribly deployed prevent defense to “earn” an 80-yard TD drive. None of that mattered if the Volunteers couldn’t recover an onside kick, however. Against all odds, they did just that! A funky bounce helped the ball dodge Longhorns, and Tennessee earned another shot with 1:22 to go and needing just an FG.
More Brandon failures and Texas sacks prevented the Vols from actually completing the miraculous comeback. Still, a 20-17 result seemed farfetched just a few minutes prior, so it was great to end up with an ultra-competitive game. Tennessee acquitted themselves quite well, although they are still a tier below the top teams in the SEC. Texas proved that they can win in different ways, but I haven’t yet seen a complete performance against a good team. Defensively, this is one of the very best squads in the nation. I still can’t trust their offense. For my money, Georgia is the true #1 for at least the time being.
(21) Florida, (20) Oregon Pummel Top-12 Foes with Offensive Eruptions
We’ve talked about (4) Ole Miss enough in the first 3 weeks. In their matchup against Florida (who was oddly a 3.5-point favorite), they were their normal selves: an electric offense and a porous defense. Despite the three-score victory for the Gators, Ole Miss played decently on offense, even without RB Kewan Lacy. Rather than focus on the Rebels again, let’s view this game from Florida’s angle. The sharps knew something about these Gators, and in their swamp, they showed out. Specifically, their ground attack was incredible, earning 302 yards and SIX touchdowns at 5.7 YPC. It was as dominant as it looked.
RB Jadan Baugh (29/142/3) is arguably the best back in the country. His blend of power and contact balance make him tough to bring down, and Ole Miss simply couldn’t. When he needed a break though, Florida had another backfield weapon. Duke Clark (12/126/1) is similarly built to Baugh and would likely be a starter at most schools. The two of them combined to form an overpowered tandem. Crucially though, QB Aaron Philo (16/23, 196 yards, TD; 6/14/1 rushing) made no mistakes…unlike his predecessors. With new HC Jon Sumrall leading them, these Gators are 100% for real. Yet another monster in the SEC.
Out west, Oregon tried to right the ship that is their season against (12) USC. We had a surprisingly low-scoring game in the first half, but the Ducks took a crushing blow during the second quarter. Trojans LB Desman Stephens II launched at a sliding QB Dante Moore (8/10, 77 yards), sparking a brawl. Side note: the refs assigned every player on each team an unsportsmanlike conduct foul. That’s asinine. Why wouldn’t Oregon be furious at that play? Anyway, Moore stayed down for more than 10 minutes before being loaded into an ambulance. In spite of the sad moment, Oregon had hope: their backup is Dylan Raiola.
The former Nebraska starter came to Eugene to develop in a very mature move. His progress was on full display against the team that broke his leg last season. Raiola (19/25, 289 yards, 2 TDs) had a fantastic game, leading the Ducks to a 41-27 road win. If I may say it, I actually think this team is better with Raiola at QB (nobody will admit that though). As for USC…man, Lincoln Riley can’t produce a defense can he? Even when the Trojans got a rare stop, they did something stupid like roughing the passer. These teams’ trajectories have been pointed in different directions since last week, and we may view this game as their crossroads.
(24) Mississippi State Thrives, (16) Louisville Falls in Separate Shootouts
The ranked matchup nearly nobody watched (partly due to its presence on SEC Network) was (19) Missouri vs. (24) Mississippi State. That’s unfortunate because two dynamic signal callers took the field. Mizzou’s Austin Simmons (23/39, 295 yards, 3 TDs) is probably best known for being Jaxson Dart’s successor at Ole Miss but losing the job to Trinidad Chambliss after getting hurt. The Bulldogs’ Kamario Taylor (27/38, 360 yards, 3 TDs, INT) is a hyped dual-threat sophomore with sky-high upside. Both guys delivered in this matchup, just at different times. Each team went on a run of their own to counter the other.
First, MSST took a 14-0 lead thanks to a turnover on downs and missed FG by Missouri. The tide shifted though, and the Tigers scored 17 unanswered points on the strength of renewed defensive vigor and the combo of Simmons and WR Cayden Lee (11/156/2). Evenly matched, the teams tied at 17 and then again at 24, leaving 5:54 on the clock and handing Taylor a chance at his moment. The fearless one led an 85-yard drive in just 1:44 to take a 31-24 lead, the defense did the rest. I really liked how both teams played, but it’s refreshing to see the previously downtrodden Bulldogs on the upswing under Jeff Lebby!
Over in the ACC, (told you I’d try to force another conference into this article!), (16) Louisville couldn’t help themselves. With their awful defense, the only real route to victory is through a shootout, and that’s what we got in their game against Wake Forest. Curiously, that only lasted for a half, as the teams combined for 45 points through 2 quarters but just 12 points the rest of the way. Calling Wake’s 30-27 win an “upset” is a little disingenuous because we saw how well they can play last week against Miami. The spirited battle gave Louisville their second loss though, and that leads into why I’m bringing this game up at all.
Last season, the ACC nearly obliterated their own CFP hopes by allowing a 5-loss Duke team to play for (and win) the conference championship. If the committee hadn’t (correctly) given Miami a berth, the conference would’ve been shut out. The near-disaster was so alarming that the ACC actually changed their tiebreaker rules. That’s great, but they still have to worry about maximizing their bids. With all of these evenly matched teams beating each other up, the ACC is setting themselves up for chaos yet again. Miami is by far the league’s safest bet, but if they’re not careful, the ACC could end up with just 1 bid yet again.
(5) Indiana Survives Upset Bid; (13) Penn State Not So Lucky
Big Ten conference play can be very dangerous, just like intra-SEC matchups. Very few teams are cupcakes, and one that was such a squad is no longer so poor. Northwestern gave the defending champion Hoosiers all they could handle on Friday night. The first quarter was frankly weird, with the only points coming on an IU safety. That was the result of a failed 4th-and-goal try from the NW 1. Neither team had much offensive success in the first half. Each had some near-misses, but they weren’t in sync. Indiana was clearly the better team, but they struggled mightily to separate themselves on their home turf.
A second-quarter FG made the score a weird 5-0, but that drive will be remembered more for a dirty hit delivered by the Wildcats on Hoosiers RB Turbo Richard (9/68). Richard was well out of bounds, and he was bent backward on the play. Amazingly, the refs didn’t throw a flag. To add insult to injury, IU would be called for a late hit that wasn’t as bad shortly thereafter. Richard never returned to the game, but fellow RB Lee Beebe Jr (24/203/1) picked up the slack and then some. He became pretty much the entire Indiana offense, but with a 12-0 first-half shutout, Hoosiers fans likely weren’t worried. Things changed though.
Northwestern got ridiculously hot, and the Hoosiers forgot how to cover. They scored 3 straight TD drives, with QB Aidan Chiles (22/29, 293 yards, 2 TDs; rush TD) escaping pressure like a magician. WR Luke Dehnicke (7/140) went off, while WR Griffin Wilde (6/56/2), who was absent in the first half, became a scoring machine in the second. NW got within 2 points on two separate occasions but never tied the game. Indiana’s rushing attack was just enough to score 2 late TDs and finish the job. This uncomfortable scare should be a warning though: defending their title will not be a remotely easy task.
At least the Hoosiers’ fans had their panic attack in an eventual 29-23 win. (13) Penn State hosted Wisconsin and seemed completely in control but fell apart. The new-look Nittany Lions, now led by ISU imports in HC Matt Campbell and QB Rocco Becht (12/29, 114 yards, INT; 12/23/1 rushing), took a quick 17-0 lead. Two INTs thrown by Badgers QB Colton Joseph (18/38, 235 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs; 13/39/1 rushing) greatly aided their cause, but it was an excellent start nonetheless. Suddenly though, PSU went into a shell on offense. They only scored 3 more points the rest of the way thanks to a stingy (if not flashy) Wisconsin defense.
Penn State also hurt themselves quite a bit. They made conservative calls when they needed to press the gas, and they took risks when they weren’t warranted. Becht barely completed any throws, while Joseph just kept firing despite his miscues. Wisconsin’s plan slowly worked. They scored before halftime, added a 3rd-quarter FG, and found the end zone again in the 4th quarter. Down 20-17 and facing 3rd-and-13, a short pass to WR Jacob Harris (5/105/1) went the distance, and Wisconsin won the game 24-21. This is probably the best win of the Luke Fickell era. Meanwhile for Penn State…new regime, same results?
(17) Iowa Delivers (18) Michigan a Karmic Last-Second Heartbreak
Finally this week, let’s end on a feel-good story. I’m sure you all remember how Michigan really lost to Western Michigan in week 1 before the Big Ten committed football crimes to rescue them. My my, how the tables turn. As expected, Iowa-Michigan was primarily a defensive game. Both teams have good stop units but poor offenses. The contest remained close throughout, with Michigan spending the most time with a slight lead. With 1:37 to go, Iowa received a punt at their own 9 while trailing 19-14. The Hawkeyes had 1 timeout remaining, which they spent with 34 seconds to go. They were at their own 45 at the time.
Iowa failed to convert a 3rd-and-12, but a boneheaded roughing penalty by Wolverines CB Zeke Berry gave them new life. QB Hank Brown (20/34, 211 yards, TD) completed a miraculous tipped pass to TE Addison Ostrenga (3/36) for 29 yards, but just 2 seconds remain. In college, you cannot spike the ball with less than 3 seconds and have time remaining. The well-coached Brown knew this and intended to fake a spike and run a play. However, a Michigan player was injured, gifting Iowa a free timeout. From the 16, Brown fired a dart to WR Reece Vander Zee (4/50/1), who kept his feet in the end zone for the winning score.
The irony of Michigan losing on a walk-off prayer throw after their opponent unexpectedly got an advantage is beautiful. Unlike Michigan’s week-1 theft though, this sequence was 100% by the book. Nobody in the broadcast or the Big Ten command center disagreed. Schadenfreude is a powerful feeling, and many fans all over the country soaked this one in. By my count, Michigan is 2-2, not 3-1. Even if the NCAA won’t reverse the outcome, we can still view the Wolverines as 2-time losers through 4 games. In the end, the CFP committee likely will too. But in reality, Michigan isn’t close to good enough for playoff consideration anyway.