College football Week 4 buzz: Arch Manning emerges, Billy Napier on the hot seat

Is it already Week 4? The college football season really does fly by! Subplots are already starting to take shape around the country as conference play gets going for most teams.

Nearly a decade after being fired as offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel returns to Oklahoma with one of the nation's best offenses -- and teams -- as the Vols welcome the Sooners into SEC play. USC will play its first Big Ten game at the Big House, as its revamped defense faces quarterback Alex Orji, who will be making his first career start for Michigan.

Texas took down Michigan earlier this fall behind Quinn Ewers, but an abdominal injury means another quarterback likely will lead the Longhorns this week against Louisiana-Monroe. His name is Arch Manning. You might have heard of him.

Speaking of hype, Miami quarterback Cam Ward, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava and other players continue to generate plenty as they lead explosive offenses.

Week 4 also features an appetizing Friday night clash between Illinois and Nebraska, Utah visiting Oklahoma State and embattled Florida coach Billy Napier heading to Mississippi State in a car-crash game that you won't be able to turn away from.

College football insiders Heather Dinich and Adam Rittenberg have been talking to sources throughout the week to get their reactions to what just unfolded, and the storylines to watch in Week 4.

Jump to a section:
Arch Szn?
USC's new DC
Most explosive offense
Billy Napier's situation
Underrated quarterbacks
Emptying the notebook

How different is Texas with Arch Manning as its starting QB?

Dinich: UTSA coach Jeff Traylor said he watched "the little bit of tape of that was out there" on Manning in preparation for last week's game against Texas. When asked if anything about Manning's performance against them surprised him, Traylor just laughed. "No," he said. "Nothing." Every coach in the country knows what they're up against when Manning takes the field - talent, speed and big-play capability. As much as Manning grabs the headlines, though, fans need to remember the loyalty that Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has shown to Quinn Ewers. While the future is on full display when Manning takes the field, what it reiterates is that Texas has the best quarterback room in the country, and the duo of Manning and Ewers is exactly the kind of depth at the position a team needs to make a run at the national title.

Rittenberg: I loved Cooper Manning's Instagram post after the UTSA game, crediting his wife's side of the family for Arch's speed, which was displayed on the 67-yard touchdown run. But Arch Manning's mobility stands out when compared to Ewers, who has 24 career net rushing yards. "He's going to be great like his uncles, and he can run faster," said Louisiana-Monroe defensive coordinator Earnest Hill, whose team likely will face Manning on Saturday in Austin. "You can tell he does a great job of reading defense and gaining control of the offense. In order for you to be a great quarterback, you've got to have some skill guys around you. And Texas has got some skill guys."

Asked the key to slow down Manning, Hill told me, "Hope. A lot of hope." But his main priority is stopping the big play. Manning completed only nine passes against UTSA, but two went for touchdowns of 51 and 75 yards, and another was a 36-yard strike to Ryan Wingo that set up Manning's third scoring pass.

"You look at the film, even when Sark was at Alabama and USC, a lot of the long balls, when they catch a ball, there's no defender around them, 5-10 yards, so they're running down the field, wide open," Hill said. "We don't want to give up those long plays, and if we do, we just want to be there to contest them, not just let them catch the ball wide open."

What kind of difference has D'Anton Lynn made as USC's new defensive coordinator?

Rittenberg: As a Power 4 offensive coordinator noted to me, USC's defense is "drastically different." Lynn has quickly transformed what had looked like one of the nation's most broken defenses in 2023. Coaches note that the changes have shown up schematically but, perhaps more importantly, from a fundamental standpoint. Opposing coordinators praised Lynn for not just copying the scheme he ran successfully at UCLA, but augmenting it with some NFL elements, perhaps a nod to his own pro background and to co-defensive coordinator Eric Henderson, who joined USC's defensive staff after seven seasons as an NFL assistant with the Rams and Chargers. "I knew they would do a good job schematically," a Power 4 offensive coordinator who has studied USC told me. "The biggest thing, though, is they tackle. They tackle and their defensive line holds point." Last year, USC tied for 100th in missed tackles with 143. This fall, the Trojans have missed only eight tackles, which ranks No. 2 nationally behind Louisville.

Dinich: Yes, the scheme is noticeably different, particularly up front in terms of how they play and block. They're heavier and are playing a little less single gap. Last year, the Trojans were more focused on the d-line getting penetration and wreaking havoc. "This is more trying to close space down," coach Lincoln Riley told me. "And there's definitely some things different with the back seven. I don't know that it's anything crazy drastic, but on any good offense or defense, you tie it all in together. Our coaches have done a good job of that."

Rittenberg: USC's back-end breakdowns drew a lot of attention last season, but the real improvement needed to come in the front seven. Lynn spearheaded a team-wide effort to bulk up for the Big Ten, and USC players on offense and defense added more than 1,450 pounds total during the offseason. "This defense, we prioritize stopping the run, we want to control the line of scrimmage," Lynn told me this summer. "We want our physicality to stick out. To me, that starts up front." USC has allowed only one run longer than 20 yards in its first two games, and Wyoming transfer Gavin Meyer and others have held up well.

Which team has the most explosive offense in the country?

Dinich: This is a toss-up between Miami, Ole Miss and Tennessee. They are all statistically comparable, but I'm going with the Vols, who have 43 total explosive plays so far (rushes of at least 10 yards, and passes of at least 20 yards). What's remarkable about Tennessee is that rookie quarterback Iamaleava is just getting started. "Every rep that he gets on game day is only going to continue to make him better," Heupel told me. "He's been really good about taking care of the football in general. He had a couple interceptions [against NC State], but that's all 11 truly operating as one. He's had really good command, he's got great demeanor and as much if anything every rep he gets is only continuing him to grow."

Rittenberg: Miami is my pick, and not just because of its explosiveness but its efficiency, which coordinator Shannon Dawson values. The Canes have punted three times in as many games and have just two three-and-outs. "If you want to look at the best stat to tell whether an offense is worth a s--- or not, then you ought to look at yards per play," Dawson told me. "Yards per play will tell you everything." Miami ranks third nationally at 8.66 yards per play, thanks to electric quarterback Ward, a deep group of backs and wide receivers and an "elite" offensive line. "We're not having a lot of negative plays," Dawson said. "We're going forward, we're converting third downs, and we're scoring on drives. That's efficient football." Ward is clearly the catalyst, but Miami also has four players with more than 100 rushing yards and six with 92 or more receiving yards. "We have a very deep running back room, we roll a lot of guys in there, so I don't know if one guy is going to get abnormal numbers," Dawson said. "It's much like the receiver room, we're rolling four or five receivers in, along with three tight ends. So the ball is getting spread around to a lot of people."

What are coaches and ADs saying about Billy Napier and the Florida situation?

Rittenberg: The buzz isn't whether or not Florida will make a change any more, but assessing where things went so wrong for Napier. There are also a lot of questions about the quality of the Florida job. Several coaches have noted problems with the staff, especially on defense. Napier hired veteran defensive assistant Ron Roberts to serve as co-coordinator alongside Austin Armstrong, who retained the primary coordinator title. "It just creates a wild dynamic in the room," an SEC coordinator said. "Basically [Armstrong's] mentor came in and took his place, while he's still there." Another SEC assistant noted that Napier's "only shot to keep his job" would have been to play freshman quarterback DJ Lagway against Texas A&M, rather than going back to veteran Graham Mertz. Despite choppy results the past three-plus seasons, Florida is still regarded as a top-tier job, especially as it gets better alignment with NIL. But agents are aware of the coach churn in Gainesville, and the fact that only two people, Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, have won consistently there.

Dinich: This is a disaster every which way you look at it. Napier is going to get fired, it's just a matter of when -- and that's Florida's biggest problem. It's not a matter of money -- the school can afford the $27 million buyout. It's a matter of timing, and the College Football Playoff calendar has made it more difficult for the Gators to make a home-run hire because the caliber coach Florida needs -- like Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin -- is likely going to be preparing his team for a run at the 12-team playoff, which won't determine its national champion until Jan. 20. And Florida is in desperate need of a coach who is in playoff contention. With an interim university president, and an athletic director who is under fire for hiring Napier in the first place, the one thing Florida can't afford is another mistake.

The most underrated quarterback in the country is ... ?

Dinich: How about Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman, whose play has helped the Cowboys off to a 3-0 start that includes a win against Arkansas? He's completing 67% of his passes and has eight passing touchdowns, two interceptions and has completed 10 passes for at least 20 yards. He has gotten good protection so far (no sacks) and been able to keep the offense moving when defenses key in on standout running back Ollie Gordon II.

"Big time," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy told me. "They're chasing him all over the place. There were times that we had a formation with eight blockers and they had 10 in there on Saturday, and there's a number of plays where we send all in one direction, and six or eight people start running that way, and it allows us to do some things passing the ball."

Gundy said Bowman has reached the point in his career where he understands the system.

"That's the first reason he's playing better," Gundy said. "Secondly, he's doing a better job of sitting in the pocket. He's had really good protection this year. There were times last year he had good protection and he would flush out of the pocket for no reason, which put him in a difficult situation, and sometimes he caused his own sacks."

Rittenberg: How about the guy at your alma mater, HD? Indiana's Kurtis Rourke has been outstanding for first-year coach Curt Cignetti and a roster largely made up of fellow transfers. Rourke came to Indiana with 38 career starts at Ohio, where he went 24-14 and had 7,666 passing yards, 832 rushing yards and 50 passing touchdowns. Cignetti told me Rourke's experience has surfaced in several ways during his first three games with IU, as he has completed 74.3% of his passes with seven touchdowns and no interceptions.

"It's like playing with an NFL veteran quarterback," Cignetti said. "He understands situational awareness, playing the position, when to get rid of the ball, when to cut his losses. And he can run well enough to get you a first down, too."

Cignetti noted how well Indiana has protected the 6-5, 223-pound Rourke, not allowing a sack in the past two games. Adversity will come in Big Ten play, but Rourke has impressed with his poise.

"He's not rattled if something bad happens, he's on to the next play," Cignetti said. "Something good happens, he doesn't get too high. The guys respect that."

Let's empty your notebooks. What else are you hearing this week/what's the best thing you heard this week?

Dinich:

• Earlier this week, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Wake Forest violated an "unwritten rule" by buying its way out of next year's matchup. The news broke following the Rebels' 40-6 win against the Demon Deacons. There's buzz throughout the coaching world that this could be the start of a concerning trend in the sport that's a direct result of the stark talent difference between schools that can afford millions in NIL money and those that can't.

  "It's going to crash college football, you watch," one coach said.

  The source said college football needs a salary cap like the NFL to create an equal playing field, otherwise programs that can afford $4 million in NIL money will no longer want to play teams that have $25 million to build their roster.

• Raise your hand if you thought Florida State would be 0-3 and Pitt would be 3-0. Exactly. The ACC is wide-open, and Pitt is one of the teams off to an undefeated start following a thrilling win against West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl. The Panthers have now defeated two teams -- Cincinnati and WVU -- they lost to last September. The biggest difference, coach Pat Narduzzi told me, is at quarterback, where Eli Holstein has completed 67.6% of his passes for nine touchdowns and two interceptions.

  "Eli Holstein's done an amazing job of finding a way to get it done, in the fourth quarter, whatever the score is," Narduzzi said. "Maybe we started slow, but we found a way to get it done, and it comes down to who your quarterback is. A year ago, we just weren't as comfortable with what we were doing and who was doing it. That's no disrespect to them, it's just different as far as that guy who gets the ball in his hands every snap offensively. The biggest difference is not who our defense is, it's the defense feeding off the energy the offense brings and vice versa."

• As Navy prepares to host Memphis on Saturday in search of its first 3-0 start since 2017, the Midshipmen do so with a glaring difference -- offense. Former Mercer head coach Drew Cronic was hired in January as the Midshipmen's offensive coordinator, and the results have been immediate. Navy's 87 points through the first two games are the program's most since 2019, when the Mids finished 11-2, won the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and defeated K-State in the Liberty Bowl. Not once last year did Navy's offense score over 31 points, a season high that came in November against UAB.

  "The dynamic of the staff last year wasn't great, and it carried down to the players," coach Brian Newberry said. "That change in offensive coordinator has been the biggest factor for the difference, truthfully. Offensively, we've scored more points in the first two games than we did in all of them last year."

• Missouri entered this season with the spotlight on one of the nation's top wide receiver/quarterback combos with Luther Burden III and quarterback Brady Cook. Through the Tigers' 3-0 start, though, the defense has been equally, if not more, impressive. Missouri is No. 9 in the country in total missed tackles (14), and No. 10 in tackle percentage (89.1%). Overall, Missouri is No. 8 in the country in defensive efficiency.

  "I think we've been physical at the point of contact," head coach Eliah Drinkwitz said, "I think our defensive interior, between our defensive tackles and linebackers, have done an excellent job of shocking and shedding blocks, and I think we've tackled really well at all three levels, which eliminates extra yardage after contact. I think that's probably the biggest thing we've done successfully."

Rittenberg:

• Arizona State has already matched its wins total from 2023, and coach Kenny Dillingham attributes the hot start to improved turnover margin -- the Sun Devils have seven takeaways and only one giveaway -- and improved depth, especially on defense. Last week, ASU went to Texas State without two of its top three defensive tackles (Jacob Kongaika and Zac Swanson) and top pass rusher Prince Dorbah (six sacks In 2023). But after a bumpy start, ASU held Texas State to seven points in the final 35:16 to win 31-28.

  Shamari Simmons had two tackles for loss and a forced fumble, continuing to shine since being moved from free safety to nickel.

  "No chance we could have done that last year," Dillingham told me. "We would have lost by 30 last year with that many guys out."

  The key new element for ASU is redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt, a Michigan State transfer who has three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.

  "He's going to have his growing pains as a redshirt freshman, but he's an NFL guy," Dillingham said. "His processing, his work ethic, his toughness, he's got all the tools. We got a home run."

• In 2022, Illinois had a secondary that produced a top-five NFL draft pick in Devon Witherspoon, as well as a second-rounder in Jartavius Martin and a third-rounder in Sydney Brown. That group set an incredibly high bar, although Illinois' current secondary might soon draw comparisons. Illinois has six interceptions through its first three games, three by Xavier Scott and two by Miles Scott, who both have a forced fumble. Xavier Scott's pick-six of Kansas' Jalon Daniels gave Illinois a lead right before halftime in an eventual upset of the Jayhawks.

  "The separation between a good DB and a great DB is their faith in what they see and what they believe," Illini coach Bret Bielema told me. "There's no better example than that pick-six for Xavier Scott. He saw it, he recognized it and as soon as he did, he reacted, so it wasn't just a PBU, it was a pick-six that changed the direction of the game."

  Bielema said both Scotts have "a mental awareness and IQ" that separates them in games. They could be significant factors Friday as the 24th-ranked Illini try to stifle talented freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola when they visit No. 22 Nebraska.

• Oregon finally looked like the team many penciled into the CFP before the season against in-state rival Oregon State, outscoring the Beavers 27-0 in the second half last week. After two shaky games, the Ducks' line play stood out as they averaged 7.5 yards per carry with four touchdowns and only allowed two Oregon State runs longer than eight yards.

  "It was only a matter of time," a Power 4 coach said. "You can't have a $22 million payroll and not be good. They figured it out."

• Louisiana-Monroe already has matched its wins total (2) from 2023 under new coach Bryant Vincent and heads to Texas with no real pressure but plenty to prove. The WarHawks will take 14 Texas natives to visit the top-rated Longhorns, including junior outside linebacker Billy Pullen, who has three sacks, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the final two contests. Hill said Pullen is known as a pass rusher but also excels against the run.

  "Billy always wanted to play for Texas," Hill said. "There's a lot of reasons why this bunch here isn't playing for a power [school]. It could have been their coach didn't promote them, or they didn't go to this camp, or their grades, or they weren't fast enough or they weren't big enough. But now they're playing on a big stage, and it's an opportunity for them to show who they really are."