B/R's 2026 College Football Winners and Losers from Week 4

Florida is surging, Oklahoma is falling, there was another last-second finish at Michigan and plenty more happened in a hectic Saturday of college football.

Oh, and Jeremiah Smith is still ridiculous.

As conference play ratcheted up across the country, Week 4 brought a flood of fantastic matchups. Six games featured a pair of Top 25 teams, and three of those showdowns were under the prime-time lights.

Beyond those marquee results, Wake Forest also provided a significant upset with a victory at No. 16 Louisville.

We closely followed the busy day and shared key takeaways from the action.

Winner: Jeremiah Smith's Career Day

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Following a record-breaking performance last weekend, Jeremiah Smith straight-up destroyed the Illinois secondary on Saturday.

Ohio State rolled to a 42-19 win behind 12 catches for 217 yards and four touchdowns from its superstar wideout.

Yeah, no big deal.

Each one of those numbers set a career high for Smith, who is surging toward a third straight All-American honor. Plus, with 617 yards and seven scores in September, he's becoming a strong contender for the Heisman Trophy.

Iowa, which has been among the nation's top pass defenses early on, awaits Smith and the Buckeyes in Week 5.

Loser: Louisville's Letdown

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Well that wasn't the encore Louisville wanted.

After taking down SMU in a key Top 25 matchup last weekend, the Cardinals turned around and lost 30-27 at home to Wake Forest.

The worst part is how many chances Louisville had to survive. The offense's three drives in the fourth quarter ended with a turnover on downs at the Wake 38, a missed 42-yard field goal and a blocked 57-yarder.

So much for being the ACC's main threat to Miami, huh?

Louisville still has a very favorable slate remaining and shouldn't disappear from the conference race, but its margin for error has vanished.

Winner: Colin Simmons' Monster Game

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I often think of a mic'd up moment from San Francisco 49ers edge-rusher Nick Bosa. He turned to a teammate on the sideline and said: "I just want to sack the quarterback, dude. It's not as easy as it looks."

Colin Simmons certainly made it look simple on Saturday.

While helping Texas pull out a 20-17 road victory, the junior tore apart Tennessee's offensive line with five sacks. Simmons even had a half-sack negated due to a penalty, so he settled for tying a program record and instead of breaking it.

"I've never seen anything like that," Texas linebacker Justin Cryer told reporters. "He's the best defensive player in the country."

Simmons already had a very positive reputation, and a signature performance in a spotlight game only bolsters his prestige.

Loser: Oklahoma's Offense

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It's a disaster.

There's no sense in sugarcoating the situation at Oklahoma, which has a giant, stinky mess on its hands offensively.

Mustering 289 yards in a 17-10 loss to Michigan threw up red flags, and only putting up 299 yards in a 14-6 win over New Mexico sounded some alarms. Saturday's meltdown at Georgia has sent OU into panic mode.

John Mateer's bizarre red-zone fumble—which UGA's Chris Cole returned for a touchdown—kickstarted the wreck. Mateer threw an interception of the next possession, then lost a fumble.

Throw in a fourth fumble and a missed field goal, and Oklahoma hardly could have endured a worse afternoon in a 41-13 loss.

Especially since OU has an open weekend ahead, expect some personnel changes. Given that six ranked teams are left on the Sooners' schedule, however, the odds of a turnaround aren't exactly high.

Winner: Florida's Statement Game

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Earlier in the week, UF coach Jon Sumrall gave a humorous response when a reporter said the Gators were favored over No. 4 Ole Miss.

Florida, uh—Florida covered that three-point spread.

Ole Miss failed to find a single solution to contain the Gators, who racked up 498 yards in a 52-28 rout of the Rebels.

Star running back Jadan Baugh scampered for 142 yards with three trips to the end zone, while Duke Clark chipped in 126 yards and a score. Aaron Philo passed for a modest 196 yards but spread the ball around efficiently, accounted for two touchdowns and didn't have any turnovers.

Most impressively, the Gators went 5-for-5 on touchdown drives in the second half before draining the clock on their last possession.

Florida has a tough October ahead with Missouri, Texas and rival Georgia on the docket. But so far, this offense is one of the country's most dangerous units.

Loser: Michigan's Payback

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What goes around, comes around?

Back in Week 1, Michigan seemed to have fallen to Western Michigan. One controversial replay decision and an incredible Hail Mary later, the Wolverines escaped with a contentious 13-12 victory.

Call it fitting, karma, whatever you want—Michigan found itself on the other side of the last-second drama in Week 4.

Trailing 19-14 in the final minute, Iowa tight end Addison Ostrenga pulled down a tipped ball for a wild 29-yard catch. The clock stopped with two seconds left, giving the Hawkeyes one snap from the 16-yard line. Hank Brown zipped a perfect back-shoulder ball to Reece Vander Dee for a touchdown as time expired.

Michigan was fortunate to beat WMU. This was an unlucky loss.

And, man, if that's not college football in a nutshell.

Winner: Luke Fickell's Job Security

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The hot seat? Still pretty warm.

One victory does not undo the recent struggles of Wisconsin under Luke Fickell. During his three seasons, the Badgers have dipped from 7-6 to 5-7 to 4-8 with their Big Ten record worsening each year, too.

Fickell entered the campaign knowing the team needed to improve—not just on paper, in the win column specifically.

Saturday's upset of 13th-ranked Penn State was a massive result for Fickell.

Wisconsin trailed 17-0 but stormed back to win 24-20, riding a dominant defense in the second half and finding a late, remarkable 72-yard touchdown from tight end Jacob Harris. It wasn't the fastest sprint, but it was effective!

The tone of this conversation is liable to change in a hurry. Falling to Michigan State next week, for example, would negate the happiness of this win.

Fickell, nevertheless, just landed a much-needed boost.

Loser: Shane Beamer's Job Security

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This hot seat? Just about burning.

For sixth-year coach Shane Beamer, the problem isn't merely that South Carolina lost again. The issue is the Gamecocks are trending in the wrong direction with nothing that really suggests a reversal is coming.

Last weekend, they squandered a 16-point lead in a loss to Mississippi State. This time, South Carolina watched Alabama sprint out to a 35-3 advantage and cruise to a 49-18 blowout. A tense moment on the sideline between Beamer and edge-rusher Dylan Stewart punctuated the ugliness of the evening, too.

Beamer's buyout currently sits at $27.9 million, a number that would be among the 10 largest in college football history.

Honestly, we're collectively a bit numb to buyouts these days. Make no mistake, though, $27.9 million is a preposterous amount of money.

Yet the school is probably trying to find it.

Winner: LSU's Recovery

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Heading into the matchup, we knew either Texas A&M or LSU would exit Week 4 holding a frustrating 2-2 record.

LSU left absolutely zero doubt which team deserved a 3-1 mark.

Sam Leavitt threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Jackson Harris six times for 163 yards and both scores. Winston Watkins Jr. added five receptions for 107 yards as LSU obliterated A&M 35-6.

While those are the flashy stats, the bigger story was the other side of the ball. LSU's defense ceded just 197 total yards, generated seven tackles for loss, grabbed two interceptions and forced a turnover on downs. Texas A&M's second-longest drive of the night covered a mere 23 yards.

The setback at Ole Miss stung LSU, but Saturday's overpowering game has kept Lane Kiffin's team squarely in the national eye.

Winner: Dylan Raiola's Reemergence

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Dylan Raiola's time at Nebraska didn't go as anticipated.

Given his recruiting billing—plus his familial connection to the program—Raiola arrived as the hoped program savior. Although he wasn't bad in Lincoln, Raiola was just fine. He entered the portal and landed at Oregon.

And now, Oregon is thrilled his first season isn't going as expected.

The circumstance stunk, to be clear. Dante Moore, who took a brutal hit while sliding, was carted off the field and taken to the hospital. Nobody wanted to see a serious injury lead to Raiola's big moment.

Despite that adversity, Raiola stepped in and propelled Oregon to a 41-27 triumph on the road against No. 12 USC. He completed 19-of-25 attempts for 289 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Had the Ducks lost, they would've dipped to 2-2 and been on the brink of becoming an afterthought in the Big Ten and College Football Playoff races.

Raiola saved the day—and looks totally capable of filling in for Moore, if needed.

Loser: Missouri's 4th Quarter

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No matter if you're a fan, player or coach, very little is more exasperating than watching a tight game slowly, steadily slip away.

Austin Simmons and Cayden Lee linked up twice for touchdowns during the third quarter, vaulting Mizzou to a 24-17 lead. It appeared the unbeaten, 19th-ranked Tigers may hand No. 24 Mississippi State its first loss.

But the final 15 minutes belonged entirely to MSU.

Mizzou essentially went three-and-out to begin the closing frame, then yielded a six-minute touchdown drive. Another three-and-out offensively, another touchdown given up on defense. The seven-point lead flipped to a seven-point deficit.

Simmons led Mizzou into the red zone, but the drive stalled and ended in a turnover on downs. His desperation heave as time expired was knocked down, too.

Missouri wasted a great opportunity to sneak out a road victory and quiet the growing Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State buzz.