Texas has an Arch Manning Problem and 8 overreactions after Week 6 of 2026 College Football Season

Well, that was something.

Week 6 of the college football season delivered, and the fallout from the chaos and the upsets will loom large in the weeks and months to come.

We have a new, definitive No. 1 team, while one of the sport's preseason darlings saw its season finally fold. In terms of coaching, the hot seat got warmer for many, although one coach delivered a victory that is likely to make him an offseason darling.

From Lane Kiffin to Arch Manning, we're overreacting to a wild week of college football and what it all means.

Iowa (Yes, Iowa) is a Legitimate College Football Playoff Threat

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On a short week, coming off a disappointing loss against Ohio State, Iowa delivered an emphatic statement at Washington.

No, Washington isn't the team we thought we were getting before the year began. But that doesn't matter. Playing with its backup QB, Iowa clobbered Washington 41-24, racking up more than 450 yards of offense on a short week.

For the Hawkeyes, they'll head into a bye week at 5-1. What's to come after the bye week, however, is where this gets interesting.

Iowa plays at Minnesota, Wisconsin, at Northwestern, Purdue, at Illinois and Nebraska to close out the year. It is possible Kirk Ferentz's team will be favored in every game moving forward, although none of them are a given.

If Iowa were to win out, it would find its way into the playoff. Period. No debate. No drama. With only one loss to one of the best teams in the country, the Hawkeyes would have a debate-free ticket to the CFP.

If the team runs the ball the way it did on Friday night for the next eight weeks, look out.

Florida State's Search for a New Head Coach Begins Now

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For 15 minutes, all was well. 

In desperate need of a victory, Florida State was up 14-0 on Louisville and absolutely rolling. Then the rest of the game happened.

Mike Norvell's team was dominated the rest of the way, losing 44-20. For the year, the Seminoles are now 3-3. 

Oh, and they travel to Miami next week. We're just going to preemptively pencil that in as a loss.

The importance of this loss cannot be overstated. For Florida State, an eight-win season looked momentarily within reach. 

But now? It's hard to see another outcome but the obvious one.

FSU still plays Miami (as mentioned), Clemson, at Boston College, at Pitt, NC State and Florida. There are no sure things left, even if at least a few more victories seem likely.

At this point, Norvell's future with the program seems clear. The Seminoles were close to moving on from the head coach last year, only to pivot from that plan. 

Although his buyout will still be enormous, the time is now.

Bill Belichick Has North Carolina Rolling

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In a week that featured plenty of bad on the coaching front, there were also some pleasant surprises. 

Yes, Bill Belichick is one of those.

No coach generates more regular overreactions than Belichick, and this weekly staple has taken its fair share of takes on his tenure since he arrived.

After upsetting Pittsburgh, however, Belichick deserves love. It's clear this program has taken huge strides forward. In fact, if not for a lengthy weather delay in the game against Clemson, which flipped the feel and momentum of that game, North Carolina would be 4-1.

Even the lone loss to Notre Dame featured plenty of competitive moments.

At 3-2, North Carolina has a slew of winnable games to come. Outside of playing Miami, which will at least be played at home, the rest of the schedule is largely winnable.

Without a doubt, Belichick's tenure has been turbulent at times. Struggles on the football field along with program turbulence have made the path challenging. But it would be a disservice to not acknowledge the incredible progress being made.

Texas Still Has an Arch Manning Problem

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For Texas, it's time for a moment of honesty.

Coming off a stunning, ugly 27-24 loss to Oklahoma, one thing has become clear. Arch Manning, who accounted for three touchdowns in the defeat, is also limiting this team's ceiling.

Indeed, Manning has progressed since early last year, where the struggles were painfully evident. But the program and offense remain limited by what Manning can—and cannot do—on the field.

The three touchdowns were solid, although the two interceptions he threw likely doomed the Longhorns.

In five games, Manning has scored 10 touchdowns and thrown five interceptions. Last season, he accounted for seven interceptions all season, and it seems likely that he'll eclipse that number soon enough.

It's not that Manning doesn't have talent; that's why this has been a constant conundrum. It's that he seems to be at his ceiling, thus limiting what the Longhorns' talented roster can ultimately accomplish.

Bob Chesney is College Football's Next Coaching Star

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For programs in search of a college football coach capable of bringing them to the promise land long, look no further.

Bob Chesney, now 5-0 at UCLA, is here to help.

For now, Chesney is working miracles with the Bruins, and the program will do anything to keep it that way. UCLA just beat Oregon outright as a double-digit underdog, which changes the entire complexation of the season.

Considering how lost this program has been of late, this development is nothing short of extraordinary. Chesney's dominance at Holy Cross led him to James Madison, where he delivered a dominant 2025.

UCLA hired Chesney in hopes of finding some stability, and it's safe to say he's provided that and then some.

Here's the kicker. There isn't a game on UCLA's remaining schedule that this team can't win. The Bruins play Wisconsin, Michigan State, Nevada, at Minnesota, Illinois, at Michigan and USC to end the year.

Like Iowa, UCLA is a real threat to make the playoff.

As for Chesney, he'll likely be at the very top of the list for any team in search of a head coach this offseason. And for good reason.

Oregon's Football Season is Over

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Technically, this isn't true. 

The Ducks' year will continue onward. In fact, Oregon will take on a much-improved Nebraska squad next week in a matchup that feels suddenly fascinating.

But as for the College Football Playoff and the hunt for the national championship, well, that ship appears to have sailed.

Oregon's loss to UCLA is crushing for a variety of reasons. For starters, it drops the Ducks to 3-2 after five games, moving the team oh so close to that dreaded third loss. In the College Football Playoff era, teams with three losses are left out.

Even more concerning, however, is how erratic the play has been all season. Not having quarterback Dante Moore certainly hurt, especially with how poorly Dylan Raiola played in his absence.

What has become clear, however, is that the issues are far more than just the quarterback. The pieces have never felt quite right with this group, and it seems beyond saving.

As for that potential third loss, here's the kicker. Nebraska could be the team that officially knocks the Ducks out next week. Oregon also plays Northwestern and at Ohio State in back-to-back weeks, and that likely won't go well. 

It's simply a matter of who and when.

Officiating Aside, Georgia is the Best Team in College Football

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Oh, the officials had a bad night. Let's begin there.

From odd replay reviews to missed pass interference calls to missed holding calls, the officiating for the Georgia-Alabama game was absolutely dreadful, and it felt largely one-sided, at least at times, in Georgia's favor.

With that acknowledged, give the Bulldogs credit. Winning at Alabama is enormous. Beating Keelon Russell is enormous. Staying unbeaten as the rest of the SEC destroys itself each week is, you guessed it, enormous.

Quarterback Gunner Stockton delivered a handful of incredible, clutch throws, and the Georgia running game flexed its muscles. As for the defense, it did a sensational job of containing Russell throughout the night.

We could credit the officiating for Georgia's 20-17 win; it would be difficult to disagree with that. But when we do that, we must also acknowledge and appreciate the gargantuan effort from Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs.

Lane Kiffin's Hot Seat Conversation Starts Now

Lane Kiffin isn't getting fired this year.

We shouldn't even entertain that discussion. LSU has tied itself to the coach in a robust way—especially financially—and he'll be given time to turn things around. As he should.

For as polarizing as Kiffin can be, it would be unrealistic to expect him to work the kind of miracle many expected him to work. But losing to Kentucky is the kind of loss that will make LSU boosters uneasy, even if the Wildcats seem much improved.

And entering Week 7 with two losses is less than ideal, especially with a challenging stretch of games on deck.

LSU plays Mississippi State, at Auburn, Alabama, Texas and at Tennessee over the next five games. With that in mind, it makes the loss to Kentucky that much more crippling.

Here's the reality regarding the whole "hot seat" conversation. It doesn't start and suddenly just end in most instances. It's a bad loss here, a bad loss there and an accumulation of mishaps.

This loss won't decide his tenure in Baton Rouge, but it's a mulligan he no longer has. And with more pressure on him than any coach in college football, the pressure will only continue to mount.