We’re just days away from Week 5 of the college football season, and we’ll have our picks for this weekend’s slate coming out over the next couple of days, but before we dive into the games, there’s still some news to catch up on.

An NFL coach is teaming up with the Starbucks CEO to try to turn their mid-major alma mater into a powerhouse, three Louisiana schools may be demoted to the FCS, and a true freshman walk-on is taking the CFB world by storm. Here’s everything you need to know heading into Week 5.

Rams’ Sean McVay, Starbucks CEO get involved in Miami (Ohio)’s Athletic plans

With NIL becoming so prominent in college sports, I’m surprised we haven’t seen a billionaire owner pour tens of millions of dollars into their alma mater to turn it into a college football juggernaut, but it appears someone has at least thought about it.

This past summer, Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Sean McVay and Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol – both of whom are Miami (Ohio) graduates – got together with Athletic Director David Sayler and spoke about the future of Miami (OH) athletics.

“That’s pretty heavy stuff, right?” Sayler told The Athletic. “Not many ADs get to sit with those types of people and have that discussion and have both of them say we’re all in. ‘What can we do? What else do you need?’ That’s two pretty powerful folks. And we’ve got them all around the country.”

Nothing substantial has come of this meeting yet, but it appears the two Miami (OH) grads are willing to put some money into the athletic department to help improve its programs. I’ve always wondered how far a couple of powerful alumni could get their mid-major football program in the NIL era, so we may be about to find out.

Louisiana Regent calls for 3 FBS programs to drop to FCS

Louisiana Board of Regents member Wilbert Pryor made a suggestion earlier this week that Louisiana Tech, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and the University of Louisiana-Monroe need to drop from the FBS level to the FCS level, with the schools’ athletic departments posting massive monetary losses every year.

“Schools that are trying to play Division I … that just a sinking hole trying to play Division I ball,” Pryor said. “I don’t think much of the public would know the difference if they all play the same level, and it seems like they have to have a self-realization and put a humble cap on. They have to have a humble pie.”

Oregon State Freshman WR only second to Jeremiah Smith in FBS stat

Less than a year ago, Jesse Legree didn’t hold a single non-walk-on offer at the Division I level, so he decided to test his luck at Oregon State, where he battled throughout the offseason and eventually earned a starting role as a true freshman, and he hasn’t looked back.

Through four games, Legree has been one of the best receivers in the country, racking up 23 receptions for 585 yards and six touchdowns. The only receiver in college football with more yards than Legree is Jeremiah Smith, who some are saying is the best receiving prospect we’ve ever seen and could end up going first overall in the upcoming NFL Draft. He’s also ahead of Malachi Toney, who is widely considered the second-best receiver in college football.

It’s been an incredibly impressive start for the walk-on receiver. I can’t recall ever seeing a true freshman walk on coming out and dominating like this through his first four games.

Texas State QB racks up 9 TDs, 0 INTs in two weeks

After a pretty slow start to the season, where he averaged 170 yards per game and threw three picks to one interception, Texas State starting quarterback Brad Jackson has been on fire over the past two weeks.

The Bobcats started the season with back-to-back losses to Texas and UTSA, where they scored a combined 33 points, but have since won their last two games by a combined score of 112-45, and Jackson has been lights out, throwing for 512 yards and nine touchdowns with zero interceptions.

With Pac-12 play starting this week, Texas State will need Jackson to keep playing at a high level, as their schedule gets tougher over the next month.

WVU Legend Noel Devine pleads not guilty to four charges

West Virginia football has had quite a few great players walk through their doors, but not many of them were better than Noel Devine, who totaled 4,315 rushing yards, 710 receiving yards, and 31 total touchdowns during his four seasons with the Mountaineers. His best year came in 2009, when he rushed for 1,465 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding 177 yards and a score through the air.

Devine just recently joined the Mountaineers’ coaching staff as an assistant coach, but on September 12, Devine was charged with felony strangulation, misdemeanor domestic battery, unlawful restraint, and stalking following an incident outside a bar. He is pleading not guilty to the charges, but has still been put on indefinite leave by head coach Rich Rodriguez.

“Upon receiving information of the arrest, I have immediately and indefinitely put Noel Devine on leave from the Mountaineer football coaching staff. Any future decision on his status will be determined after more information becomes available,” said Rodriguez.

We’ll see what happens as the legal process moves forward, but for now, Devine is no longer a coach on WVU’s staff.

Navy travels to Air Force for 59th Meeting in Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy Opener

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, it is awarded to the winner of the series between the nation’s three service academies, the Army Black Knights, Navy Midshipmen, and Air Force Falcons, every year. All of these teams play each other once a year, and whoever comes out with the best record between these three teams gets to take the trophy home.

The Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy was established in 1972, when Army swept Air Force and Navy to take home the inaugural award. The trophy bounced around between Army and Navy for the first 10 years before Air Force went on a run, winning it 16 times from 1982 to 2002. Navy went on a seven-year streak before Air Force started trading with them pretty much every other year, and it wouldn’t be until 2017 that Army finally took the trophy home for the first time since 1996. Since 2017, Army has won it four times, Navy has won it three times and Air Force has won it once. The Falcons have held the trophy a record 21 times to Navy’s 18 and Army’s 10 (the trophy has been shared five times). Now, the 55th Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy battle is set to begin this weekend when Navy travels to Air Force for the 59th meeting between these two programs.

Air Force enters Saturday’s game as 3.5-point favorites over Navy, but it’s anyone’s game. We’ll see who comes out on top this weekend.

Arizona State coach gives DJ Lagway high praise

DJ Lagway has always been tabbed as a player with a whole lot of potential, but he never really lived up to it at Florida. He made some “wow” plays, but the consistency just wasn’t there, so this offseason, he transferred to Baylor for a fresh start, and while there’s been some ups and downs, there have definitely been more ups, and Arizona State Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward gave him some high praise before their matchup this week.

“He has a presence on the field. You can tell he’s a leader. He has NFL written all over him. He can make every throw, I mean, he really can,” said Ward.

Lagway missed two games with an ankle injury, but in his two starts, he’s thrown for 554 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions. We haven’t seen him get out and use his legs like we know he can, so if he can start to run a bit more, he’s only going to become more dangerous this year.

Is this finally the year we see Lagway’s true potential? It looks like it might be if he can stay healthy.

New Mexico remains the only FBS team without a turnover

Every football team makes mistakes, even the best ones. Even the Texas Longhorns, the No. 1 team in the country, have turned the football over. Arch Manning has three interceptions and has put the ball on the ground seven times, but has been lucky enough to recover all of them. What I’m trying to get at is, nobody is perfect…Unless you’re New Mexico.

Through four weeks, the Lobos are the only team in college football without a turnover, and they rank No. 1 in the nation in turnover margin at +14. Their ability to take care of the football has the third-best odds of any Group of 6 team to make the playoffs.

Turnovers are bound to happen at some point, but it’s been a terrific start for this offense.

UCLA linebacker is making some noise in Year 1 with the Bruins

Linebacker Sammy Omosigho transferred to UCLA this offseason after three years at Oklahoma, and it’s probably the best decision he’s ever made in his life. At Oklahoma, he never totaled more than 50 tackles and two sacks in a single season, but in his first year with the Bruins, he already has 37 tackles, three sacks, and leads the nation with four forced fumbles, and he’s only played four games.

Omosigho, like many college football players, has aspirations of one day making it to the NFL. If he keeps playing like this, his dream will surely become a reality.

Eric Morris has Oklahoma State starting strong

Mike Gundy coached Oklahoma State Football for 21 years, dating back to 2005. During that time, he brought OSU to 18 straight bowl games and finished the season ranked in the top-25 10 times, but after a 3-9 season in 2024 and a 1-2 start in 2025, he was let go, clearing the path for Eric Morris to take over in 2026, and he’s doing a fantastic job.

Through four weeks, Oklahoma State is 3-1 and ranked 19th in the AP Poll. They did suffer a shocking Week 1 loss to Tulsa, but bounced back the next week with a win over Oregon, which made everyone forget about that Week 1 blunder.

A large reason for their success has been their offense, which has already scored 17 touchdowns this season, which is the same amount they scored all of last year combined. Yeah, let that sink in.

Morris has done a terrific job assembling this team in just one offseason. Cowboy fans should be excited about the future of this program.