As Week 4 has come and gone, we take a look at some surprising performances and where change could be needed.
Clemson is off to a 1-3 start, Missouri and Texas Tech are making early statements and Ole Miss has a surprising star at backup quarterback.
What changes might Clemson coach Dabo Swinney have to make in the offseason? What's ahead for Missouri and Texas Tech as they enters conference play and what do they need to do to push themselves into College Football Playoff conversations? Will Lane Kiffin have to make a big decision on his QB1 in the future?
Our college football experts break down key takeaways from Week 4 performances.
Jump to:
Clemson changes | Don't overlook Missouri
Texas Tech delivers | Surprising star at Ole Miss
Miami's defense | Indiana's success
How good could USC be?
Clemson needs to reevaluate its personnel this offseason
Dabo Swinney's job is not in jeopardy -- and any notion of that is absurd, even following the worst start of his career as Clemson coach. But it's on him to fix the Tigers, and that could mean a coordinator change, a deeper dive into the transfer portal or both. Following the home loss to Syracuse, Swinney lamented multiple times that Clemson can't seem to put it all together. Why? This is a team that returned more production than any other in the FBS -- from a season that included an ACC title and CFP appearance. Clemson's defense was a problem against the Orange under Tom Allen, but he just got there. The issues start on offense, with coordinator Garrett Riley, who leads a group that has been mostly underwhelming under his watch:
Clemson's red zone touchdown percentage over the past three seasons is No. 92 in the FBS (ranked third under previous OC Tony Elliott).
The Tigers average less than one 50-yard play every two games under Riley; they averaged nearly one per game in seven seasons under Elliott.
The Tigers are No. 33 in offensive efficiency over the past three seasons; they were fourth in the FBS with Elliott on staff.
Clemson's season is no longer about winning the ACC or contending for the CFP -- it's about finishing with a respectable record and making the best decisions for 2026. -- Heather Dinich
Mizzou keeps purring along
Missouri is proving that it shouldn't be overlooked in a wide-open SEC.
The Tigers produced their second quality victory this season Saturday with a 29-20 win over LaNorris Sellers and South Carolina. Missouri defeated rival Kansas two weeks ago.
A pair of backfield transfers continue to lead the way.
Quarterback Beau Pribula, who arrived after backing up Drew Allar at Penn State last year, ranks 12th nationally with a QBR of 83.8. He's completing 72% of his passes on the season and rushed for another 72 yards against the Gamecocks.
Ahmad Hardy, who joined Missouri after starring for UL Monroe as a freshman in 2024, has totaled at least 100 yards in all four games for the Tigers. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, he has rushed for 1,951 yards, more than any other active college running back. Hardy already has 270 rushing yards after contact this season, tied for fourth most nationally.
Hardy, Pribula and the Tigers will have an opportunity to make another statement Oct. 11 when Alabama visits Columbia. Win that game, and Missouri could begin to factor into playoff conversations. -- Jake Trotter
Texas Tech the team to beat in the Big 12
Coming into the season, Texas Tech was one of the most interesting teams in college football. In May, ESPN.com ranked 2025's top newcomer classes -- a combination of high school recruits and arrivals via the transfer portal -- and Texas Tech came in at No. 5. This was primarily because of its work in the portal, where it brought in several high-profile players expected to make an immediate impact. When the first transfer portal window closed, there had been more than $10 million invested into adding players to the roster.
The total roster value by the first game is difficult to estimate, but it's safely among the highest in college football. It all led to an interesting question about what an instant cash infusion can do for a program that hasn't won an outright conference title since 1955. In a 34-10 win against Utah on Saturday, the answer was clear: It can build a team that should be considered the favorite to win the Big 12 and reach the College Football Playoff. -- Kyle Bonagura
Chambliss emerging as surprise star for Ole Miss
Back in April, Ferris State quarterback Trinidad Chambliss entered his name in the transfer portal with the hopes that he might be able to make a move up. He put up absurd numbers in 2024 while leading the Bulldogs to a Division II national title, throwing for 2,925 yards and 26 TDs and rushing for 1,019 yards and 25 more scores.
Temple, Western Kentucky and Marshall quickly extended scholarship offers to the GLIAC Player of the Year. A couple of Power 4 schools reached out. And then, suddenly, Ole Miss entered the picture. The Rebels were searching for an experienced No. 2 QB to back up Austin Simmons. They might have stumbled upon a star.
Chambliss has been exceptional in the two games Simmons has missed with an ankle injury: 660 passing yards, 174 rushing yards, 5 total TDs, zero turnovers and the seventh-best QBR (88.5) in the country. The Rebels' 45-10 win over unbeaten Tulane, one of the best teams in the Group of 5, was nothing short of dominant.
Simmons getting two weeks to recover before Ole Miss takes on LSU was invaluable, but Lane Kiffin could face quite a dilemma this week if Simmons isn't 100% ready to go. Chambliss is making this Rebels offense tough to stop and just might give the team its best shot against the No. 4 team in the country. -- Max Olson
Miami defense and "ESV"
Do you remember when the Miami defense essentially cost the Hurricanes a spot in the ACC championship game last year in a loss to Syracuse to close out the regular season? Blowing a 21-0 lead and losing was the last straw for coach Mario Cristobal, who made a massive defensive overhaul in the offseason.
The result? A dominant, dingy, physical group that has Miami in a much better position to compete for championships. Following a thorough 26-7 dismantling of Florida on Saturday night, Cristobal once again raved about his defensive unit playing "off the charts" under first-year coordinator Corey Hetherman. The task for Hetherman in the offseason was to take an undisciplined unit and make it into an attacking, aggressive group built on physicality up front -- the way Cristobal has built his offensive line.
Hetherman wanted his players to remember three keys: Playing with excitement, swarming to the ball and playing with violence. Every day "ESV" shows up on the whiteboard in the defensive meeting rooms. So far so good on the field. Miami held Florida to 141 yards of total offense, sacked quarterback DJ Lagway four times, had seven tackles for loss and did not allow the Gators to convert a third-down conversion (0-for-13).
Defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. has set the tone a year after an early injury limited him for most of the season, leading the team with 22 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and two sacks. He and Akheem Mesidor have teamed to form perhaps the best 1-2 defensive end duo in the conference. The two combined for 19 pressures on Lagway.
"Honestly, you kind of could see some panic," Bain said about getting to Lagway. "Other than that, just flying around, playing football. I feel like that's any quarterback, they're going to have some kind of worry when you've always got somebody in front of your face."
On his Instagram stories after the Florida game, Bain posted a picture of a cooked Gator with the caption "Swamping." -- Andrea Adelson
Indiana's offseason set it up for more on-field excellence
The period between the 2023 and 2024 seasons will always go down as one of the most significant in Indiana football history. That's when the school hired Curt Cignetti, the most impactful coach for a historically weaker program in recent memory. Cignetti then brought his top assistant coaches and many of his top players with him from James Madison to Indiana. The rest, of course, is history.
But what Indiana did after making the College Football Playoff is almost as significant. The Hoosiers had another excellent offseason, building on their success with the commitment to ensure no slippage. Cignetti received a new contract, and Indiana swatted away suitors for defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and others on the staff. IU lost only one on-field assistant, Tino Sunseri, who left to become offensive coordinator at UCLA. The Hoosiers then retained many of their best players from 2024, including All-Big Ten cornerback D'Angelo Ponds, who opened the scoring in Saturday's 63-10 win against Illinois with a punt block and a scoop-and-score.
IU also retained wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, a third-team All-Big Ten selection who had nine receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns in the Illinois win. The Hoosiers were also aggressive in the portal, adding Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who had five touchdown passes and two incompletions against the Illini. IU also bolstered its offensive line, a group exposed in losses to Ohio State and Notre Dame last season. The O-line kept Mendoza clean and bullied Illinois.
Standing on the sideline late Saturday night, athletic director Scott Dolson and university president Pamela Whitten reminded me that Indiana has one of the largest alumni bases in the world. Thanks to Cignetti, IU is harnessing that support and committing to success in football unlike ever before and is showing no interest in vacating the national stage. -- Adam Rittenberg
We're about to find out how good USC really is
After quietly entering the season under the radar, the Trojans have dispatched inferior opponents with relative ease in their first four games. The good news is that Lincoln Riley's offense is humming on all cylinders and is the top unit in the country in yards per game and yards per play as well as top-5 in SP+.
In his second season with USC and first full campaign as a starter, Jayden Maiava has looked the part of one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the sport. Through four games, Maiava has been nearly flawless, completing 71% of his passes for more than 1,000 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. Oh yeah, he also has four rushing touchdowns.
The not-so-good news is that the defense seems to be showing signs of regression from last year, both in the way they have racked up penalties (USC has 32 as a team) and allowed big plays, especially in the secondary. While there remains a lot to sharpen up, the Trojans enter one of the toughest stretches of their season. They'll head to a still-ranked Illinois next week to face an Illini team coming off an embarrassing loss to Indiana before hosting a Michigan squad that looks stronger by the week and then traveling to South Bend to deal with Notre Dame.
In other words, the warmup is over. For the Trojans to be considered a contender in the Big Ten, the next three weeks could either break them or make them. -- Paolo Uggetti