The 2026 college football season has lived up to the hype so far. We’ve had a ton of incredible games, including some nail-biters this past weekend, and we’re only just getting into conference play. Over the next few months, we’re going to be treated to some fantastic battles between conference rivals, and it’s hopefully going to result in one of the most competitive College Football Playoffs we’ve ever seen.

This past week brought us a ton of storylines to talk about. From quite a few coaches feeling their seat start to heat up to a new quarterback taking over in Oregon to a new CFP projection, here’s everything you need to catch up on what happened in Week 4.

Coaching Hot Seat

We’re only four weeks into the college football regular season, but fans across the nation are already calling for coaches’ heads after a disappointing start to the season. Here are five guys who are feeling the heat right now.

Shane Beamer

Let’s start down in Columbia, South Carolina, with Shane Beamer, who signed on as the South Carolina Gamecocks’ head coach in 2021 and has brought their program back to relevance. He’s never won double-digit games, but he’s had South Carolina ranked in three different seasons and was even a top-10 team at one point in 2025. Things have gone south quickly, though, and SC is currently 2-2 on the year with losses to Mississippi State and Alabama. Beamer was the guy South Carolina needed to stabilize the program, but he may not be the guy they need to take the next step.

Lincoln Riley

Now let’s talk about the guy who coaches the real USC, Lincoln Riley. After five seasons at Oklahoma, where he was ranked in the top 10 every year, Riley left the Sooners behind to accept the head coaching job at USC, but it hasn’t gone smoothly. In five seasons, he’s won 10+ games once (his first season with the team) and has since lost 4+ games every year. The Trojans got off to a hot start this year, winning four straight, but as soon as they faced a real opponent in No. 20 Oregon, they were dominated, 41-27 (and that was with Dante Moore exiting early). New year, same story for Lincoln Riley’s team, and this might be the year they call for a change.

Brent Venables

Riley left the Sooners and was replaced by Brent Venables, who also finds himself on the hot seat. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster for Venables, who has finished 6-7 twice and 10-3 twice during his time at Oklahoma, but many were hoping 2026 would be the year. John Mateer is back, and that defense was looking as menacing as ever, but with embarrassing losses to Michigan and Georgia to start the season, the Sooners are 2-2 and need to be perfect the rest of the year to make the playoffs. And considering their next game is against No. 1 Texas, and they still have five other ranked teams on the schedule, that’s going to be tough. Sooner fans expect to make the playoffs once every few years, but Venables has not delivered.

Mike Norvell

In 2020, Florida State brought in Mike Norvell, hoping he could revive their program, and while there have been some highs, there have been a lot more lows. The highest of highs came in 2023 when FSU went 12-0 in the regular season and won the ACC, but missed the CFP because of an injury to Jordan Travis. Many thought FSU could recover, but instead, they won just seven games over the next two seasons, and are 2-2 to start 2026. Norvell has proven he can coach a championship-caliber team, but he hasn’t been able to rebuild after his team was left out of the CFP.

Dave Aranda

After Dave Aranda helped LSU win the national championship in 2019, Baylor made him their next head coach, and all of a sudden, there was a ton of excitement in Waco, Texas. His tenure didn’t start well, going 2-7 in 2020. Once COVID was over, he delivered a 12-2 season with a Sugar Bowl win in 2021, but that was the height of his tenure with the Bears. Since then, Baylor has had just one winning season in 2024 when they went 8-5 and lost in the Texas Bowl. They’re 3-1 this year, but the only good team they’ve played – Auburn – beat them in their home stadium, and with three more ranked teams on the schedule, it looks like another disappointing season is coming for Baylor.

Mike Locksley

Mike Locksley deserves some credit. He took Maryland from an irrelevant football program and delivered them three consecutive bowl wins from 2021 to 2023, but since then, things have fallen off the rails. Over the past 2.5 seasons, Locksley has gone 10-18, and after a 2-0 start, they’ve dropped back-to-back games and were just run out of their own building by UCLA, which beat them 54-3. Locksley has a long history with Maryland, but it might be time to let him go.

Greg Schiano

Rutgers has rarely been a respectable football program in my lifetime, but when they have been, it’s been with Greg Schiano leading the way. He’s spent two stints with Rutgers, from 2001 to 2011 and from 2020 to 2026, and during that time, he’s led them to nine bowl games, winning six. But over the last two seasons, he’s 6-10 as a head coach, and Rutgers is 1-3 this year, with losses to UMass, Boston College, and USC. He’s another coach with a long history with the university, but it might be time to make a change.

Playoff Projection

After four weeks, we have a pretty good idea of which teams are legit and which ones aren’t. That doesn’t mean someone can’t come out of nowhere and sneak into the CFP or that one of the top teams couldn’t fall out of contention for one reason or another, but there seems to be a pool of 20ish teams that are likely to make up the CFP. Here’s our latest projection after Week 4:

1. Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia hasn’t really played anyone too tough, but they’ve looked like the most dominant team in the SEC through four weeks. Oklahoma’s offense is bad, but its defense is one of the best in the conference, and Georgia put 41 on the board, so that shows the potential of this offense.

2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Is Notre Dame a top-two most talented team in the country? Maybe, but we probably won’t find out until the CFP. The only reason I have them this high is that their schedule is a cake walk, and they’ll probably be 12-0 by the end of the year.

3. Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State already has a loss on the board, but they’re still the favorites in the Big 10 in my eyes. They have a fantastic offense with multiple Heisman candidates, and their defense is tough as nails. They win the Big 10 and book a top-three seed.

4. Texas Longhorns

Texas is the current No. 1 team in the nation, but their schedule is not going to lighten up, so I think they end up dropping a game along the way. They’ll be in the SEC Championship, but I think they’d lose to Georgia and end up in the 4-6 range in the CFP.

5. Miami Hurricanes

Miami plays one ranked team this year, which is Notre Dame, and that’s it. That game is going to tell us a lot about these two teams. One of them is likely to finish 12-0, and the other 11-1, so they’ll both probably still get in with a relatively high seed. If one of them gets blown out, though, the committee should seriously consider leaving them out as a one-loss team, because their schedules are a complete joke.

6. Alabama Crimson Tide

Keelon Russell has been everything Alabama hoped he’d be and more. Their offense has scored 40+ in all four games this season, but with Mississippi State, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee still to come, it’s not going to be an easy path forward. Still, the Crimson Tide probably come out of the SEC with one loss, which will get them into the CFP easily.

7. Indiana Hoosiers

Another team with a Charmin Ultra Soft schedule is the Indiana Hoosiers, who started the season against UNT, Howard, Western Kentucky, and Northwestern, and will now go to Rutgers. Their only real tests are Ohio State and USC (if they’re still good by then), so they’re another team likely to go 11-1 that could get into the CFP without much of a challenge.

8. LSU Tigers

The LSU Tigers already have a loss to Ole Miss on the books, but this is still a very good football team that will be favored in pretty much every game the rest of the year. The only two they might not be favored in are against Texas and Alabama, but both of those games are going to be in Death Valley under the Saturday night lights. If they can just win one of those games, they likely finish the year 10-2 with two top-10 losses, and in the SEC, that’s probably good enough to get you into the CFP.

9. Florida Gators

The Florida Gators have come out of nowhere and all of a sudden look like a CFP team after a big win at Auburn and a 52-38 home win over then-fourth-ranked Ole Miss. The Gators’ offense has scored 50+ in three of their first four games (and 44+ in all four), and while their defense has some work to do, it won’t matter if they keep up this offensive explosion. Texas and Georgia are still on the schedule, but like I just said, 10-2 in the SEC with losses to two top-10 teams should get you in.

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders

It seems the Big 12 will come down to Texas Tech and BYU this year, but I’m leaning toward the Red Raiders. They only have one more ranked team on their schedule – Oklahoma State – so they’ll likely make the Big 12 Championship game, and will probably face BYU. I know this is a different TTU team, but they have the big-game experience that BYU doesn’t, so I’m slightly leaning towards Tech.

11. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi State has been one of the stories of the year thus far. Kamario Taylor is playing like a Heisman candidate and has the Bulldogs at 4-0 to start the year. They do have a tough schedule ahead with trips to LSU, Texas, and Ole Miss, but if they can win one of those games and finish 10-2, they should be able to sneak in as an at-large.

12. Boise State Broncos

The Group of 6 is guaranteed one playoff spot, and it feels like Boise State is going to claim it once again. They are the only G6 team ranked at the moment, with the next-closest being JMU down at No. 36, so unless they fall off a cliff, the Broncos should be dancing again.

Week 4 Takeaways

This past weekend of college football brought us a ton of storylines that could send ripple effects throughout the sport. Here were some of my biggest takeaways from the weekend, and how they could change the CFB landscape.

Oregon’s QB Situation: Let’s start by talking about Oregon’s quarterbacks. Dante Moore took an absolutely gruesome late hit to the head and is out indefinitely with a concussion (that was a dirty play, but the fact that the defender was celebrating and laughing about it on the sideline is absolutely disgusting), which allowed Dylan Raiola to take over as Oregon’s starter. Many questioned his decision to transfer to Oregon and sit behind Moore, but when he got his chance, Raiola balled out, completing 19 of his 25 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns.

If you’re Dan Lanning, you absolutely hate to lose Dante Moore, who was projected to be one of the top picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, but I’m sure he’s thrilled to have picked Raiola up in the portal. The former five-star didn’t put up great numbers in Nebraska, but you could always tell he was more talented than the numbers indicated. Now, with the weapons he has in Oregon, he has the chance to show his true potential. If he can keep this up, Oregon will still be a threat in the Big 10, even without Moore.

Wisconsin and UCLA’s Resurgence: College football is better when teams like Wisconsin and UCLA are playing well. It has been 12 years since the Bruins won 10+ games in a season, and 7 years since the Badgers did. Both of these teams have a ton of history, but have fallen off in recent years. Now, though, they could be back.

Wisconsin lost its season opener to Notre Dame, 41-13, but has bounced back with big wins over Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan before going to Penn State and knocking off the 13th-ranked team in the country, 24-20, after falling behind 17-0 early in the second quarter. Luke Fickell is coaching for his job this year, and he’s doing a pretty good job keeping it thus far.

As for UCLA, their start has been even more impressive. They’re sitting at 4-0 through four weeks for the first time since 2022, and they’re coming off a massive 54-3 win over Maryland. Nico Iamaleava has totaled nearly 1,000 yards of offense and five touchdowns, but it’s their run game, which is averaging 7.0 yards per carry, that’s getting the job done. The Bruins go to Oregon next week, which will tell us a lot about this team, but they seem to be on the come-up.

The Florida Gators Are SEC Contenders: I never thought I’d be saying this in the year of 2026, but the Florida Gators are SEC contenders. They’re 4-0 to start the year, just dominated the No. 4 team in the country, scoring 52 points and winning by 14, and their offense is red hot. Aaron Philo is throwing the football well, but Jadan Baugh might be the Heisman front-runner right now with 600 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 83 carries.

Florida definitely has to work on their defense, which has allowed 67 points in the last two weeks combined, but if their offense keeps firing like this, they’re going to be dangerous. They do have to go to No. 1 Texas before hosting No. 2 Georgia in October, but if they can win one of those games, an SEC Championship berth is not out of the equation.

Should Texas Be No. 1?: I know the Texas Longhorns own the biggest win in College Football this season, but I’m not sure they deserve to be the No. 1 team in football. They played one great half, yes, but other than their second half against Ohio State, they haven’t looked the part. Arch Manning doesn’t look like the future top-10 pick everyone make shim out to be, and their run game is averaging 3.6 yards per carry. This offense just isn’t very good, but their defense has been phenomenal all season, allowing them to start 4-0.

I think Georgia should be the No. 1 team in the country. They haven’t faced as tough a competition, but they have been dominant and just dropped 41 points on an Oklahoma defense that is one of the best in the SEC. This is no knock on Texas, but they have some things to clean up if they’re going to stay No. 1.