We are already five weeks into the college football season, meaning there are just nine weeks left in the regular season. We’re over a third of the way through the year, which feels cruel after how long we waited for football to return this offseason.

Heading into Week 6, there is a ton of news out there. From a head coach of a Power Four school giving up play-calling duties to a HBCU finally restarting its football program after a decade, here’s everything you need to know heading into Week 6.

ASU’s Kenny Dillingham gives up play-calling

Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham has been tabbed as one of the best young offensive minds in college football, which is a big reason why he was hired at Arizona State, but he didn’t call plays during his early tenure with the Sun Devils. But at the end of 2025, after finishing 80th in PPG in the regular season, Dillingham took over play-calling duties for the bowl game, where ASU scored 39 points, which was 15 more than their average.

Dillingham retained play-calling duties to start the 2026 season, but after a 2-2 start in which they’ve averaged just 21 PPG against Power 4 opponents, Dillingham has handed play-calling back to Offensive Coordinator Marcus Arroyo.

“I just wanted to be able to be a head coach again,” Dillingham said after practice. “I want to be able to have balance. I want to make sure our team has the one singular-minded focus, passion, and energy… Marcus has been helping out all along, and he’s a phenomenal coach. I just think I’m better suited to be a head football coach.”

Arroyo was the play-caller back in 2024, when ASU made the College Football Playoff while averaging nearly 33 PPG. We’ll see if he can get their offense back on track this week against Hawai’i before a trip to No. 11 Texas Tech.

HBCU fires head coach after rivalry loss

Tuskegee University has announced they have dismissed Head Coach Aaron James after the HBCU’s 30-28 loss to Morehouse in their annual rivalry game. Morehouse had not beaten Tuskegee in back-to-back years in over three decades, but after losses to their rivals in 2025 and 2026 and a 2-3 start, Tuskegee decided it was time to move on from Jones.

Jones joined the team in 2023 and led the Golden Tigers to a 7-4 record, but that would be the height of his tenure with Tuskegee. In 2024, he’d go 5-6, and in 2025, the Golden Tigers finished 4-7. It was time for a change at head coach, especially after two big rivalry losses.

BYU loses multiple players ahead of Iowa State

After five weeks of football, BYU is 4-0 and the No. 8 team in the country. They’re in a prime spot to make the College Football Playoff this year, but their next two games aren’t going to be easy. In Week 7, they have to host No. 3 Notre Dame, but before that, they will host Iowa State while missing some of their key pieces.

The Cougars have already ruled out star running back LJ Martin, who has 344 yards and three touchdowns behind a 7.8 average on the season, linebacker Isaiah Glasker, who is fifth on the team in tackles, and running back Sione Moa. On top of that, they have also listed safety Raider Damuni as doubtful, and top cornerback Cannon DeVries as questionable.

If this injury report holds, they could be without two of their top running backs and two of their top defensive players when Iowa State comes to town in just three days. The Cyclones have nearly toppled a ranked Iowa team this year, losing 16-13, and put up a good fight against Utah. They’re not going to be an easy out, especially with so many of BYU’s players potentially missing this game.

QB news across the country

There has been a lot of big quarterback news this week, but let’s start in Louisville. After suffering a lower leg injury against Wake Forest, Lincoln Kienholz was a game-time decision last week. He managed to play, throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to N.C. State, but he didn’t always look like himself. Now, with another week of rest, he’s been listed a probable, and should be much closer to 100 percent against Florida State this week.

Pitt QB Mason Heintschel led the Panthers to a 4-0 start this season, but in their biggest matchup of the year against undefeated Virginia Tech, he suffered a season-ending torn ACL, leaving Holden Geriner to take over under center. Nobody knew how the backup would play, but after he completed 67 percent of his throws for 78 yards and a touchdown, which ultimately put the game out of reach late, Pat Narduzzi announced he will be the starter from here on out.

Now for some bad news. Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele suffered a concussion last week and may have to miss his first game of the season. JKS was a four-star recruit in the 2025 class, and while he’s made some mistakes this season, he’s also made some big plays for the Golden Bears, throwing for 1,180 yards and eight touchdowns. Every snap is extremely valuable for someone like JKS, so if he misses this game with a concussion, it will be a massive blow.

Central Oklahoma coach resigns after chasing officials

This one is a bit…unusual. After suffering a 33-31 loss to Central Missouri this past weekend, Central Oklahoma Head Coach Adam Dorrel has resigned, but not due to his team’s performance on the field, but because he chased an official after the game.

As Central Missouri celebrated its win, the officials were jogging off the field, and Dorrel took off after them and had to be held back by his own coaches.

Maryville Forum Sports

@SportsMDF

·Follow

Unfortunate scene to end a pivotal MIAA game with UCO coach Adam Dorrel chasing the officials after the game. UCM coach and former Dorrel assistant Josh Lamberson calms down situation. Video: MIAA Network. Sound: UCM Radio (Greg Hassler and Jim Svoboda)

Watch on X

3:51 AM · Oct 4, 2026

432

Reply

Copy link

Read 21 replies

Dorrel was obviously none too pleased with the officiating late in the game, which helped Central Missouri win the game on a late field goal, but still, you can’t go after officials after the game is over. He lost his temper, and now his job.

UConn Assistant Coach arrested over August crash

Earlier this week, it was announced that UConn Assistant Coach Brooks Jenkins is facing charges of evading responsibility, failure to take a sobriety test, driving without a license, and interfering with an officer/resisting. Jenkins, the Huskies’ assistant defensive tackles coach, joined the team in 2025, where he served as the director of player development and as an assistant defensive analyst.

“We will not comment on any personnel-related incidents,” UConn athletics spokesperson Colin Stewart said.

The crash occurred in August, and reports say it is unclear whether he has continued to coach the team since then. Now, though, I’d be shocked if he were still coaching while the legal process plays out,

Bethune-Cookman RB emerges as SWAC breakout star

Bethune-Cookman is off to a 3-2 start this season, but has managed to average 35.5 points per game against non-FBS teams this season, and that’s largely due to their star running back, Rashon Brown. In 2025, Brown only carried the ball 29 times for 172 yards and one touchdown, but in 2026, he’s emerging as one of the best RBs in the SWAC, totaling 484 yards and eight scores on 80 carries this season.

This past week in Bethune-Cookman’s 16-10 win over Alabama State, Brown was unstoppable, rushing for 260 yards and a score on 31 carries. He averaged 8.4 yards per carry and totaled more yards than Alabama State’s entire offense. As you probably expected, he was the SWAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Brown looks like a rising star in the SWAC. Keep an eye on him for the rest of the season.

Stillman brings back Football with HBCU coach

Way back in 2015, Stillman College was forced to cut back its athletic offerings from 12 teams to just two – Men’s and Women’s Basketball. They needed to save money, and for the past 10+ years, they haven’t had a football team. That’s changing in 2027, though.

Stillman College announced on Thursday that Teddy Keaton, a Stillman graduate, has been hired as the school’s new athletic director and head football coach as the school prepares to bring its football program back in the 2027-2028 season. Keaton has coached college and professional football for the past 25 years and is widely known for his ability to rebuild programs.

Keaton will try not only to bring football back to Stillman, but also to build them into a winning program as quickly as possible.