I don’t want to get ahead of myself or jinx it. I think week 4 by some margin will be the best and most entertaining week of the season so far. And it might not be topped for a while. We have tons of intriguing games, so many that I had to cut a handful out of my weekly picks so the article wasn’t too long. Let’s get to the action that’s to come.

2026 Betting Record

Against the Spread: 9-16
Straight Up: 13-12

First, a quick update on the weekly picks. It’s still going really poorly. We’ll move on…

Week 4 Games to Watch

All times are Eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll.

Northwestern [+21] at #5 Indiana
Friday, September 25, 8:00 PM, Fox

An early check in on this Friday night game is probably warranted. Northwestern has been solid so far this year (no, really!) and at some point you’d think Indiana is due a clunker or overlooking an opponent, right? Right?? Or, maybe the voodoo that Curt Cignetti has employed to allow his quarterback to be nearly perfect will continue.

Indiana 39
Northwestern 16

#1 Texas [-4.5] at #14 Tennessee
Saturday, September 26, 12:00 PM, ABC

These new conference mates haven’t faced each other in 58 years. The previous 3 meetings in series history (1950, 1952, 1968) were all Cotton Bowl games in Dallas–so this is the Horns’ first-ever visit to Tennessee. There’s about to be so much orange roaming around Knoxville. Well, more than there usually is each game weekend. Five-star true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon has looked pretty sharp early in his career so far, but I doubt a kid who just turned 18 back in June is beating Texas. Ugly orange over the good orange color.

Texas 27
Tennessee 20

Oklahoma [+14] at #2 Georgia
Saturday, September 26, 3:30 PM, ESPN

Georgia is a really, really quiet no. 2 in the country. A little too quiet. Oklahoma’s defense is doing a lot of heavy lifting with this spread as the advanced stats tell us this is a matchup in Athens between two top 5 units on that side of the ball. Is it too bold of me to believe a shutout of Oklahoma is entirely in play here? Are we really looking at a 28-14 or 21-14 type of game? I think the Sooners offense puts their team in harms way far too often and it gets ugly late.

Georgia 34
Oklahoma 9

#4 Ole Miss [+3] at #21 Florida
Saturday, September 26, 3:30 PM, ABC

Are we witnessing a Gators revival?

Florida is favored! All of this week new Gators head coach Jon Sumrall is telling his team not to let their heads get too big, it’s only week 4 and this brief bit of praise means nothing. Still, this is a huge opportunity early in his Florida career. Ole Miss coming off their emotional win over Lane Kiffin last week sets up one of the most telegraphed let down games in recent history. This is such a tough pick. How high would Florida be if they win? I generally love Trinidad Chambliss, I’m going to roll with him.

Ole Miss 27
Florida 24

#17 Iowa [+5.5] at #18 Michigan
Saturday, September 26, 3:30 PM, CBS

I want to see a Hawkeyes shutout in Ann Arbor. Maybe Michigan won’t cross midfield, fingers crossed!

Iowa 19
Michigan 0

Wisconsin [+10] at #13 Penn State
Saturday, September 26, 5:00 PM, Peacock

So many interesting games this weekend! This is a big one for Luke Fickell, a win or even a really hard fought loss would go a long way to Wisconsin showing plenty of improvement from the past couple years. I think so far Penn State has been a pleasant surprise in the Brim’s debut season in Happy Valley. This is their first power program they’ve faced in 2026 and as Notre Dame saw, the Badgers can offer some stiff resistance. I’ll take the home team but not by much.

Penn State 30
Wisconsin 26

#23 Texas A&M [+8.5] at #10 LSU
Saturday, September 26, 7:30 PM, ABC

Both of these teams lost last weekend–would you be ready to cross off this week’s loser from the playoff contention? If it ends up being the Aggies I think you’d have to get the Sharpie ready. The schedule is still crazy difficult to come back from a 2-2 start. I mentioned this in the past that it hasn’t seemed like people across the country expect a ton from A&M this year. If you’re Lane Kiffin, hoo boy, you can’t lose this game at home. Not at night in Death Valley.

LSU 39
Texas A&M 29

#20 Oregon [-3] at #12 USC
Saturday, September 26, 7:30 PM, NBC

A classic Big Ten matchup at night, live from Los Angeles, on NBC. Just like when I was a kid. It’s fair to be skeptical of Oregon and their chances of being a title contender. USC, on the other hand, doesn’t have the juice to be considered in that discussion right now. I like the Ducks coming out of a big wake up call loss early in the season (honestly they looked bad but in the playoff era it could be completely fine long term) and we know these are the type of games Lincoln Riley almost never wins. This rivalry is also heavily in favor of the Ducks (4 straight wins and 14 out of the last 19 since Oregon became a strong program in the late 1990’s) so I’m taking them as the road favorites.

Oregon 52
USC 45

#19 Missouri [+6.5] at #24 Miss State
Saturday, September 26, 7:45 PM, SEC Network

Taylor is ballin’ this year.

Now the Kamario Taylor hype train is filling up! The Bulldogs are in the middle of a brutal 7-game stretch against power conference opponents and have Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas coming right after this game. Crazy stuff. You have to think a 7-5 season is the absolute best Clanga can do this year but that would be a great season for them. Taking care of business this weekend would be a step in that direction.

Miss State 34
Missouri 28