2026 College Football Picks: Week Four

Jayden Maiava, USC

 

📊 THE RECORD

🏆 PICKS 11-7 | ⚡ UPSETS 0–1 | 🐕 SUPERDOGS 0–2 | 🔒 LOCKS 2–1

(1) Texas Longhorns @ (14) Tennessee Volunteers

📍 Knoxville, TN

🏈 Texas -5.5 | O/U 55.5

A come-from-behind win at home over Ohio State in Week Two has Texas fans dreaming of a National Title run. The only thing standing in their way? Seven ranked matchups the rest of the regular season, not including the Red River game with Oklahoma. First up is a trip to Knoxville to face off with Tennessee, who has rolled to a 3-0 start but is short on resume wins.

Statistically, there isn't one thing that jumps off the page at you about Texas. They've had three strong offensive showings, with the Buckeye win particularly special given the strength of the opponent. But what they make up for with gaudy stats is just how many different ways they can approach a defense. Arch Manning has thrust himself firmly into the thick of the Heisman race, but the Longhorns have spent major money to give him the right support. Hollywood Smoothers and Raleek Brown have been a very effective 1-2 punch out of the backfield. Cam Coleman is the big name outside, but Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley V have been just as valuable. And even though they've taken their lumps, the offensive line has been good enough to put Texas in position to win games. Perhaps most importantly, Steve Sarkisian has been on fire from a play-calling perspective, in the midst of one of his best runs since he was Alabama offensive coordinator. He'll be in store for a battle against one of the best defensive coaches in the game in Jim Knowles, who has engineered a quick turnaround for the Volunteer defense. This is a group that also spent big money this offseason, and it's obvious Knowles represents an upgrade over the departed Tim Banks. Tennessee believes they are good enough now on this side of the ball to compete with the big boys of the SEC and the early results are encouraging. With that being said, how much can we really take away from shutting down Furman, Georgia Tech, and Kennesaw State? This will tell us a lot about just how much those offseason changes can change things here in Knoxville.

There's a lot of great young quarterbacks in the SEC right now, and Tennessee's Faizon Brandon is playing as well as any of them. Brandon emerged from a crowded quarterback room and is off to a start that includes nearly 700 yards of total offense and nine total touchdowns. The most important stat, however, is the zero interceptions, quite an achievement for a quarterback playing his first three games of live college action. Again, the competition is not at the highest level it will be, but it has provided Brandon the momentum he needs to hit the meat of the schedule running. Still, this is going to be a Volunteer offense that is going to need to rely on the ground in these big games, at least early on. For all the talk of Josh Heupel playing a wide-open attack, a power-run game has been a key element in setting up everything they do out wide. He's been patient with his young quarterbacks, including Nico Iamaleava, and Brandon so far. It helps that they've held a superior edge in the trenches against all three of their opponents so far on the year, all of whom are leaky against the run. That's allowed DeSean Bishop, Daune Morris, and Brandon himself to feast against the early non-conference. This is a Texas defense with entirely different athletes, who are fast, twitchy, and physical. I am still quite a bit curious how this Longhorn defense shapes up the rest of the way this fall, and this game will give us some key indications. Will Muschamp was a big-name hire, and a bold move by Sark. The Longhorns have real star power, including Colin Simmons and Rasheem Biles, but will the consistency be there? Texas is going to have to win some ugly ones given the schedule, and that will be on the defense to get the job done.

Neyland Stadium is the type of home atmosphere that can close apparent gaps between teams, and the Volunteers will need the crowd in full tilt on Saturday afternoon. But, it's just so hard to gauge Tennessee at this point in the year, and I would need more justification if I were to go for an upset here. This has the chance to be a tough one, because this is a good Volunteer team... I think. Yet, the Longhorns look to be just too much at the end of the day.

The Pick: Texas, 38 Tennessee, 24

(20) Oregon Ducks @ (12) USC Trojans

2026 College Football Picks: Week Two

Raleek Brown, Texas

📊 THE RECORD

🏆 PICKS 6-3 | ⚡ UPSETS 0–0 | 🐕 SUPERDOGS 0–2 | 🔒 LOCKS 1–0 

(1) Ohio State Buckeyes @ (4) Texas Longhorns

📍 Austin, TX

🏈 Texas -1.5 | O/U 49.5

For the third straight season, two of the sport's Goliaths will collide, this time in Austin. The top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes have won the previous two meetings, and will look for the trifecta against a Texas team on the hunt for a signature victory. Both are fresh off blowout wins over Group of Five foes, with the Longhorns entering as slight favorites in their home stadium.

The Texas offense struggled mightily in last year's defeat, as Matt Patricia drew up a tremendous gameplan his Buckeye debut. This Longhorn offense has a different feel this year, at least on paper. Arch Manning seems to be getting more comfortable by the passing week, and it helps that Texas has invested so much around him. Cam Coleman is perhaps the most purely talented wide out in the country, and big things are expected of the backfield duo of Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown. That backfield combo was sorely missing in last year's loss, where the Longhorns lacked any explosiveness and were not able to stretch the field horizontally. That left them trying to work in between the tackles against a fearsome Buckeye front, and the lack of success showed. Another element that was missing last year was the quarterback run game, with Arch. It's easy to forget the 2024 season since it felt so long ago, but we first saw Arch in a Longhorn uniform mainly in designed quarterback run packages in the red zone. We didn't see it as often last season, and it did feel like an element of the Longhorn offense was missing. They are going to have to be creative in moving the ball against a talented Ohio State defense, and it does feel like there is going to be opportunities here. Opening things up horizontally could also set up Coleman in a way this offense needs if they want to find the big play down the field. 

Speaking of struggling offenses, Ohio State didn't exactly have a highlight reel day in last year's win over the Longhorns. They managed just 203 yards of total offense, managing just 77 yards on the ground - just 2.3 yards per carry. Something tells me that is going to change here, as Bo Jackson is the type of weapon that can change things, and he didn't receive a single carry in last year's matchup. Ja'Kobi Jackson could also factor in, as the former Florida transfer matched the sophomore in yardage in the opener against Ball State. For all the criticism around the hire of new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, he earned a reputation for himself in the pros for finding ways to set up the ground game with jumbo packages and heavy sets. It may not always be pretty, but it should help the Buckeyes control the line of scrimmage in the way they need to if they want to come out victorious. That's not to sell short an aerial attack that features perhaps the nation's top QB-WR combo in Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith. The Longhorns found a way to contain Smith, but we've seen countless times how the junior superstar can take over games. New Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has had the entire offseason to devise a gameplan to contain Smith, but there are also plenty of new pieces in the secondary. Beyond Smith, I am watching to see who emerges in this Ohio State receiver room, which no longer has Carnell Tate. UTSA transfer Devin McCuin feasted in the opener, and looks he could be the Robin to Smith's Batman. That's a terrifying thought for the rest of the Big Ten, and for the Longhorns in this one.

Beating any team three straight years is not an easy feat in today's modern college football with how much rosters can turn over yearly, an few teams are investing in their roster quite the way Texas is. The Longhorns also get the favorable homefield advantage, so it's no surprise to see them as the favorite. But, the pick for me is super simple - I just trust Ohio State more. The program under Ryan Day has a clear, established identity. They reload as well as anybody in the country. And I'm not sure there's anyone that can match what they feature at the skill positions, including the Longhorns. This will be a battle, but I think the Buckeyes make enough plays to secure a signature win early on in the year.

The Pick: Ohio State, 34 Texas, 27

(11) Oklahoma Sooners @ Michigan Wolverines

2026 College Football Picks: Week One

Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss

📊 THE RECORD

🏆 PICKS 0–0 | ⚡ UPSETS 0–0 | 🐕 SUPERDOGS 0–0 | 🔒 LOCKS 0–0

Clemson Tigers vs. (11) LSU Tigers 

📍 Baton Rouge

🏈 LSU -10 | O/U 50.5

The 2019 National Championship Game feels like a lifetime ago, especially for these two respective programs. At that point, LSU was putting the finishing touches on an all-time season. Clemson had established themselves as one of the sport's most consistent programs, playing in their fourth National Championship in five years. Now, both collide in this 2026 season opener looking vastly different, and out to prove themselves in different ways. LSU now has Lane Kiffin on the sidelines and were one of the most aggressive teams in the nation in the transfer portal. Clemson has slipped significantly under Dabo Swinney, but is out to prove last season's disappointing 7-6 finish was merely an aberration. One team will come out Saturday, while the other will find themselves under pressure as they look towards the remainder of the fall.

There's a whole lot of new faces for Lane and the Bayou Bengals as they begin this new era, and it starts at quarterback. Sam Leavitt was brought on from Arizona State to jolt an offense that was downright ugly last year. He'll have a new-look offensive line, bolstered by stud tackle Jordan Seaton, and some fresh weapons to work with at the skill position. How he looks in the opener could set the tenor for the rest of LSU's season. Leavitt missed a big chunk of last year with injury, and he needs to be back to 100 percent if this team is to reach their lofty ceiling. Yet, I'm perhaps more curious about this ground game, which features holdovers Caden Durham and Harlem Berry. Every great Lane Kiffin-coached team has always featured an elite ground game that opens up everything they do through the air. For an offense that struggled to run the ball throughout the entire Brian Kelly era, finding rhythm here would be a huge testament to the quick turnaround Lane appears capable of. You do get the sense Lane is going to want to test what Clemson's athletes look like up front. If he feels he has the advantage, he is going to be just fine sitting back and running the ball all game long. Clemson has some quality pieces, namely defensive end Will Heldt and linebacker Sammy Brown, but this is not the same Tiger front seven we came to know during their height in the 2010s. It feels like LSU is going to hold the edge and be the more physical team, unless Tom Allen and this Clemson defensive staff can come up with some creative blitzes and looks to get into the backfield. Clemson feels like the team that is going to have to take chances, particularly on the road, and that has never been the strength of Dabo or this coaching staff. Their golden years were about their advantage in talent, player development, and preparation. I'm curious to see if they can devise a gameplan to overcome the talent gap here.

It's a different feel to the Clemson offense, too, after they overhauled this unit following the frustrating