There are winners and there are losers. That’s life, and that’s college football.
Here’s a look at our standout winners and losers from Week 4.
Winner: Mississippi State
It was a big week for Mississippi State and the cowbells.
MSU fans set a world record for the most cowbells rung in unison Saturday night against Missouri, then promptly beat the Tigers to improve to 4-0 heading into a massive, massive matchup at home against Alabama in Week 5.
We’ll cover that game plenty this week here at Saturday Down South as MSU looks to snap a 16-game losing streak against the Tide in front of the cowbells in Starkville. For now, let’s focus our attention on the very real problem that is Mississippi State football.
The Bulldogs are looking good to start the season. Kamario Taylor is playing like one of the 5 best quarterbacks in college football and showed off his impressive arm a few more times this week. You could make a legit argument that this was Taylor’s worst outing of the year, and he still threw for 360 yards with 3 touchdowns. Through 4 weeks, Taylor has thrown 14 touchdown passes — tied for the most in the country alongside USC’s Jayden Maiava.
But it’s not just Taylor. Anthony Evans III is emerging as one of the best receivers in the SEC, and Fluff Bothwell currently ranks in the top 15 in rushing yards nationally behind an obviously improved offensive line.
MSU started last season 4-0 and finished 5-8. I’m confident in saying that won’t be the case in 2026.
Losers: Josh Heupel and the Tennessee offense
Tennessee football under Josh Heupel: Often good, rarely elite.
The Vols’ offense looked as bad as it has in a long time, the catalyst of Saturday’s 20-17 loss to No. 1 Texas. True freshman QB Faizon Brandon lacked the confidence that made his first 3 starts so impressive. His offensive line is partially to blame.
Texas consistently got home with 4 rushers, meaning chunk completions sometimes required throws into tighter windows with extra defenders in coverage. Far too often, Brandon circumvented this issue by simply not throwing the football at all. Texas finished the afternoon with 10 sacks, which is more than 5 SEC programs have across the entire season.
Not ideal.
What’s worse? Tennessee’s defensive line posted arguably its best game of the Heupel era. Outside of a few drives, Arch Manning and the Longhorns struggled to move the football against the likes of Xavier Gilliam, Tyree Weathersby and a mean unit of Vols linebackers led by Arion Carter. The Longhorns punted 7 times. Texas collected just 262 yards of total offense — its lowest mark of the year. Jim Knowles’ defensive unit played more than well enough to win the game.
Last year Tim Banks’ defense was the glaring problem for Tennessee. In the years before that, led by the likes of Nico Iamaleava and Joe Milton, offensive inconsistency plagued the Vols. The whole cycle is getting to be tiring, and I don’t blame Vols fans for being frustrated with Year 6 in full swing.
For those curious, Tennessee is 4-10 against ranked opponents since the start of the 2023 season, including 7 straight losses in such games.
Winner: Boise State
Boise State continues to look like the favorite to take the G6 spot in the College Football Playoff this year. The Broncos, after downing Memphis in Week 2, demolished a good Western Michigan team 32-7 on Saturday evening.
Boise State’s lone loss on the year remains a 34-27 contest at Oregon to open the season. The Broncos need Oregon to keep winning to further legitimize their competitive game against the Ducks, and they got their wish in Week 4 as Oregon beat USC, 41-27.
Dylan Riley is no Ashton Jeanty, but he’s pretty darn good. The Boise State running back currently ranks 3rd in the country with 592 rushing yards through 4 weeks and totaled 28 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown against Western Michigan. Additionally, Maddux Madsen continues to be one of the best G6 quarterbacks, with a top 15 QBR, per ESPN.
Perhaps Boise State’s toughest remaining matchup is a Week 6 battle at Fresno State.
Loser: Louisville
Speaking of legitimate College Football Playoff contenders… Louisville is no longer one of them.
The CFP Committee can excuse a loss to Ole Miss to start the season. It can’t excuse a loss to Wake Forest at home behind an uninspiring performance from the Cardinals’ O-line and run game. Louisville rushed for just 75 yards at 2 yards per carry against the Demon Deacons, which allowed over 125 rushing yards to Purdue and Miami before Saturday afternoon.
Louisville could still appear in the ACC Championship Game and earn a spot in the Playoff that way, but the margin of error is razor thin. If the Cardinals continue playing like they did on Saturday, though, they’ll likely drop a few more.
Winners: Florida fans
Am I overreacting if I say Florida has the best offense in college football right now? It’s still very early, but Florida fans have struck gold with Jon Sumrall and Buster Faulkner, the latter of whom I can’t imagine will be in Gainesville for too much longer as teams call regarding head coaching vacancies.
Ole Miss is a good team that will contend for a College Football Playoff spot this year, and Florida just took the Rebels behind the woodshed. Even scarier for the rest of the SEC, it felt like the Gators left some points on the board. Philo missed an open receiver on 4th-and-2 early in the game, for example.
Aaron Philo is a top 5 quarterback in the SEC. Jadan Baugh is the best running back in the country, and the Gators’ receivers are just hell to deal with — especially Vernell Brown III. They have all the tools to make a run at the CFP.
Losers: Desman Stephens and USC
I’m going to consider Desman Stephens lower than pond scum until he gives a legitimate apology for his abhorrent cheap shot on Dante Moore Saturday evening. As in, put Stephens in front of a camera and make him explain himself instead of attempting to pass off the weak PR apology USC put out on Sunday.
I don’t buy the excuse that Stephens didn’t let up because Moore was sliding late for even a second — especially considering Stephens decided to taunt and celebrate after the fact. An even worse look for USC, nobody apart from No. 27 in the video below tried to hold Stephens accountable for his behavior. Heck, Stephens stayed on the sideline for the rest of the game despite being ejected!
Personally, I think he should never be allowed to play football again. Not necessarily for the hit itself — he was suspended just one game, by the way — but the complete lack of remorse here is truly disgusting and has no place on a football field.
Do better, USC.
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Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
