Texas doesn't look right.
Texas is the undefeated No. 1 team in the country with wins over No. 7 Ohio State and No. 14 Tennessee.
The Longhorns have navigated a difficult early schedule well and are on pace to be the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff.
And, yet, something feels ... off.
Call it champagne problems but this Texas team looks anything but invincible.
You have the weird issues from the Holly Rowe drama that enveloped Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning to the Colin Simmons' "simulating using the restroom" penalty that Sarkisian bizarrely blamed a "look at me" society for happening. There are the dumb on-field decisions like the awful facemask penalty on Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon late in the fourth quarter that kept the Vols' hopes alive when it was 3rd-and-19. There are the more serious issues like the arrest of linebackers coach Johnny Nansen days after the Ohio State win on charges of driving while impaired, for which Nansen missed one game.
Texas had 11 penalties Saturday, which included that wild Simmons one, and the consequences from those penalties played a big role in the game being as close as it was. Texas was probably lucky to avoid another celebration for unsportsmanlike conduct after running back Raleek Brown had a wild touchdown celebration that also mimed putting his hands down his pants. How Brown thought it was smart to do that after seeing the affect Simmons' penalty had on Texas -- saving Tennessee from fourth-and-forever and maybe changing the momentum of the game -- is hard to comprehend.
Is this just an undisciplined team? It looked like it Saturday when it gave up a punt return touchdown and seemed unprepared for the Vols' successful onside kick late in the fourth quarter. It reminded me of when I saw Texas in person last fall when the Longhorns were also unprepared on special teams in a beatdown at Georgia. (Texas did question whether it was a legal onside kick by Tennessee).
Is Sark incapable of getting the most out of Manning? Arch again looked shaky on a day he went 14 for 29 for 201 yards and an interception. He looked nothing like the type of player some have projected to go No. 1 overall in the 2027 NFL Draft. His offensive line, which had pass-protection issues Saturday that harkened back to 2025's woes, is also a concern.
There are a lot of questions percolating about a team that hasn't gotten tripped up yet, albeit it has come very close twice now. Is it just a matter of time before Texas' flaws get fully exposed? Or could this be a team that somehow just keeps finding ways to win games it has no business doing so?
You could easily argue Texas should be 2-2 today. Instead, it's 4-0. It's worth celebrating those wins but until Texas cleans up the issues it'll be hard to shake the feeling a loss isn't looming around the corner.
Here are a few more overreactions from Week 4.
Oklahoma needs to bench Mateer
Quarterback John Mateer looked overwhelmed against Georgia.
What should have been an advantage for Oklahoma -- a highly paid veteran quarterback -- instead looked like a fatal flaw in a three turnover game, including a fumble returned for a touchdown, that stomped out whatever faint hope the Sooners had of pulling off the upset. Mateer's three first-half turnovers helped Georgia race out to a 28-0 lead it'd never relinquish.
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables admitted after the game he thought about benching Mateer at halftime. He should take it a step further: Benching Mateer for the Red River Rivalry against Texas. It's obvious that the Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle duo isn't getting it done this season. Fans already seem to want Arbuckle gone. Mateer's confidence looks completely shaken. If ever there was a time to make a move, the upcoming bye week would give Oklahoma an extra week to give backup Whitt Newbaeur more reps and get him ready to start.
Do you want to start a backup quarterback against No. 1 Texas? Of course not. But after watching Mateer's play doom the Sooners in losses to Michigan and Georgia, and almost lead to a loss against New Mexico, it's difficult to conjure up confidence it will be any better against the Longhorns.
It's hard to move off someone you've invested big resources in -- Texas A&M seems to be going through a similar struggle with Marcel Reed -- but Oklahoma needs to think long and hard about benching Mateer before too much of the season is lost.
We need player fines
Speaking of Colin Simmons, at what point can conferences start fining players the way professional leagues do? The answer is probably when there is collective bargaining -- a hotly debated topic that could take years to take hold in college athletics, if ever -- but with players making as much money as they do now, it should be an option.
Did I think Simmons' penalty was hilarious? Yes, I did. It was so, so dumb and yet it made me laugh. Still, I couldn't blame the SEC for fining him, say, $500 to send a message.
The bigger issue, really, is the dirty hit USC linebacker Desman Stephens put on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. To add insult to injury, Stephens then celebrated the dirty hit and appeared to be laughing about it on the sideline when Moore still lay on the field clearly hurt. A dirty hit and gross reaction like that should not only lead to a suspension but a fine. Maybe $10,000 would make Stephens think twice before ever going head-hunting again.
"It was a disgusting play," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said.
As college athletics become more professionalized, a fine system to limit dirty hits and poor behavior would be a step in the right direction.
Wasn't just a hangover for Ole Miss
LSU bounced back in a big way with a 35-6 over No. 23 Texas A&M, but Ole Miss didn't have as much success in its first game after the Lane Kiffin Bowl in Oxford.
Playing without star running back Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss' offense struggled to get it going in the first half. Even worse, though, was coach Pete Golding's defense's attempt to stop Florida running back Jaden Baugh. He ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns as the Gators gashed Ole Miss for 302 ground yards. Florida embarrassed Ole Miss late in what turned into a 52-28 final score.
Florida was a favorite in the game for a reason. Coming off an emotional win over its former coach, Ole Miss had to hit the road and try to beat a very good Florida team in The Swamp. It was always going to be a challenging feat, and Ole Miss did itself no favors with sloppy tackling and poor effort.
Can Golding clean it up ASAP? Ole Miss still has a true Heisman Trophy contender in Trinidad Chambliss who will always give the Rebels a chance to win. But the defense is going to have to improve in a hurry if Ole Miss is going to survive its upcoming SEC gauntlet. It may be in Golding's best interest to delegate more of the defensive responsibilities as he balances defensive play-calling with his role as head coach.
Welcome to the playoff race, Iowa
Is this the year the Hawkeyes finally break through? Iowa is off to a good start after a thrilling comeback win over No. 18 Michigan. Hank Brown led an instantly memorable 91-yard drive in less than two minutes, culminating in a game-winning 16-yard touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee. It was a special road win for an Iowa program that consistently gives the Big Ten's top teams all they can handle.
With Penn State and Washington also losing Saturday, Iowa finds itself in the Big Ten's top four playoff contenders club alongside Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon. Next week is a home game against the No. 7 Buckeyes which won't be easy, but the rest of the schedule feels very manageable. Past Ohio State, road trips to Washington and Minnesota loom as the hardest games on the schedule. Still, there's a real possibility now Iowa could finish the season 11-1 and be in the College Football Playoff.
Dickert hire one of best in recent years
Watching Wake Forest win at No. 16 Louisville reinforced how good of a hire AD John Currie made in Jake Dickert.
I already graded Dickert as the best hire of the 2025 coaching cycle but he is looking more and more like one of the best hires of the last five years. Sure, he's no Curt Cignetti, who could go down as the hire of the century for Indiana. But when you consider the context, Dickert should rank highly.
It was no sure thing, after all, when Currie hired Dickert away from Washington State. Dickert had never coached east of Wisconsin before landing at Wake Forest. But he is a good coach who has surrounded himself with a good staff that has paid off with 9 wins in Year 1 and a 3-1 record to start Year 2.
Undoubtedly, Dickert will be a hot name for other jobs once the coaching carousel gets cranking. Wake Forest, the smallest Power Four school, will have to fend off other suitors who could dangle more money in front of Dickert. It's a credit to the work Dickert has already done in Winston-Salem and what is still possible this season in an ACC that feels pretty wide open other than Miami at the top.
Coaching carousel could start spinning soon
By Sept. 27 last year, three Power Four head coaches had already been fired in what turned into an especially hectic and active coaching carousel. UCLA and Virginia Tech made their moves Sept. 14 while Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy on Sept. 23.
We haven't seen a major firing yet but that could change in the coming weeks. Maryland's Mike Locksley and South Carolina's Shane Beamer each suffered bad losses Saturday night. A week after losing to rival James Franklin, Locksley's Terrapins got annihilated at home, 54-3, to first-year coach Bob Chesney's UCLA Bruins. Maryland has wanted to be patient with Locksley, bringing him back for the 2026 season and giving him more financial resources to be successful. The devastating home loss to UCLA could crysallize that it's just not going to get turned around in Year 8 of Locksley's time at Maryland.
Beamer's loss to No. 8 Alabama was more understandable but 31-point loss is no easier to swallow. The walls appear to be closing on Beamer, who has a 35-32 record in his sixth season at South Carolina. South Carolina had a breakthrough 2024 that had the Gamecocks just missing the College Football Playoff cut. That led to lofty 2025 expectations, especially with star quarterback LaNorris Sellers and defensive end Dylan Stewart returning, but South Carolina slid to a disappointing 4-8 record. Beamer vowed that it'd all be worth it for a comeback 2026 season but so far it looks like more of the same for the Gamecocks.
Keep an eye on this situation as South Carolina plays Kentucky next weekend and then Florida on Oct. 3 before a bye week.
