Week 4 brings a Saturday slate loaded with matchups that matter, and the biggest draws are the ones with ranked teams colliding in the SEC and Big Ten. Six of those ranked-on-ranked games are spread across the weekend, and a few stand out right away.
The headline game for plenty of fans is Texas at Tennessee. Arch heads into the stadium where Peyton made his name, trying to carve out his own place with a Longhorns team that already knocked off No.
1 Ohio State a couple weeks ago. Now Texas is stepping into its first road game and opening SEC play against a Tennessee offense that can put up points, even if it hasn’t faced a defense like this one yet.
Ole Miss at Florida has the feel of a classic letdown spot if the Rebels aren’t sharp. Ole Miss comes in after an emotional win against Lane Kiffin and LSU, but now has to travel to face an undefeated Florida team that is newly ranked, riding momentum after beating Auburn, and showing it can run the ball well. The question is simple: did Ole Miss spend all its energy on beating Lane, or can it reset fast enough for Florida?
Oregon at USC is another one with major playoff implications hanging over it. Both teams have plenty to prove.
Oregon already has a bad loss to unranked Oklahoma State, and this is the kind of game it needs to use as a statement. USC is still unbeaten, but its defense remains a big question after giving up a lot against Rutgers.
The Ducks’ skill talent will test that group in a big way.
Then there’s LSU at Texas A&M, which has the kind of pressure that makes a late-September game feel bigger than it should. Both teams want SEC championship contention, and both are coming off losses.
LSU’s loss came on the road against top-ten Ole Miss, while Texas A&M took a hit at home against unranked Kentucky. That makes this one especially urgent for the Aggies, who may need it even more.
Either way, neither side can really afford a second straight defeat.
There are also several other games worth keeping on the radar. Iowa visits Michigan in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The Hawkeyes have only played one Power 4 game so far, a three-point win over Iowa State, while Michigan has had some uneven offense and played UTEP a little too close early before pulling away. That one kicks at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
Oklahoma travels to Georgia in a matchup that looks tough on paper for the Sooners. Oklahoma owns the second-worst scoring offense in the SEC and ranks 99th nationally in total offense, and now it gets a road date against a Georgia defense that ranks seventh in FBS and is allowing about 3 yards per play. That game is set for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Missouri at Mississippi State closes the day with a ranked team that has earned it. Mississippi State is ranked after Kamario Taylor led a big win at South Carolina.
Taylor has more than 800 passing yards and 11 touchdown passes, and the Bulldogs already have two road wins over Power 4 schools. Miami is the only other school that can say the same.
That one kicks at 7:45 p.m. on SECN.
In Other News...
Mike Williams Texas Honor Carries A Much More Personal Pride
Mike Williams induction into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor gave the former Longhorns offensive tackle a chance to look back on the path that took him from a young player trying to find his footing in Austin to becoming the No. 4 pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. The honor recognized a career that began with real growing pains as a freshman, but it also came with the kind of reflection that often comes only after the playing days are over.
Williams spoke during the event about the pride he takes now in helping guide his daughter, Mia Williams, whose own wrestling career has Olympic aspirations. The story shifted from one generation to the next, with both father and daughter offering their perspective on the work it takes to chase big goals, and on how the lessons from one athletic journey can shape another. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Has A New No. 1 Debate As Schedule Turns Serious
Texas kept its grip on the top spot in both the AP and Coaches polls after a 30-6 win over UTSA, but the weekly rankings conversation is getting more crowded by the day. Georgia, Notre Dame and Ole Miss also handled their latest games, while the rest of the top tier shuffled behind them as college footballs early-season order started to take shape.
Ole Miss win over LSU and Kentuckys upset of Texas A&M added another layer to a weekend that changed the look of the rankings without knocking Texas off its perch. With Week 2 in the books and the schedule about to stiffen, the Longhorns are still the team everyone is chasing, even as the case for the rest of the top five gets harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Fans Just Got The Ranking Reality After Texas Loss
Texas stayed planted at No. 1 in the latest AP Top 25 update for the 2026 college football season, a status that still carries plenty of weight as the Week 3 results settled in. The Longhorns handled UTSA 30-6, and the poll reflected a college football landscape that kept shifting around them, with Ole Miss climbing to No. 4 after its upset of LSU.
For Texas fans, the bigger backdrop may be how the rankings continue to shake out elsewhere in the sport, especially with Texas A&M tumbling out of the top 25 after a loss to unranked Kentucky. It is the kind of early-season turn that sharpens every debate about who is really built to stay near the top, and Texas is still the team sitting in the pole position for now. [Read more 🡒]