Week 4 was the wildest of the season so far. There were six matchups between teams ranked in the most recent AP poll. In them, Texas was able to further its case that it is the best team in the country; Oregon was able to redeem its Week 2 loss to Oklahoma State by beating USC; and Mississippi State, behind a tremendous game from Kamario Taylor, got its first win in a matchup between two AP ranked teams since 2014.
But we're not just looking at everything that happened this past week. Our college football experts are here to break down key takeaways from the first month of the season.
Which team had the biggest statement win in the first month of the season?
We could go a few different ways with this one. Oklahoma State made a giant statement in its win over Oregon. Texas did, too, when it came back to beat Ohio State. But what Florida did to Ole Miss this past Saturday perhaps made the biggest statement. Consider where the program was under Billy Napier -- boring, uninspired, lacking a competent offense. Jon Sumrall has flipped that script in four games -- and the definitive proof arrived in a 52-28 win over the fourth-ranked Rebels.
It is one thing to put up big yards and lots of points against Florida Atlantic and Campbell, which Florida did. Doing it on the road against Auburn opened a few more eyes. But to do it against a top-5 team coming off a CFP semifinal appearance is an entirely different statement. Florida did essentially whatever it wanted in the win, rushing for more than 300 yards and leaving perhaps at least two more touchdowns on the table. The Gators scored more than twice as many points as LSU did the week before against Ole Miss, and while there may have been an emotional letdown for the Rebels, the way Florida is moving the ball up and down the field cannot be ignored.
Florida tied its record for the most points scored against a top-5 team -- the Gators also scored 52 in the 1997 Sugar Bowl over Florida State, a game that delivered the first national title in school history. The win over Ole Miss was its first against an AP top-5 opponent since beating Georgia in 2020, breaking a 12-game losing streak. Florida has scored 214 points in four games. It scored 259 total in 12 games last year. Florida is finally relevant again. -- Andrea Adelson
After one month, which contender is facing the most questions the rest of the season?
Oregon has been a fascinating team to follow over this first month of the season. The preseason No. 2 Ducks looked loaded on paper after Dante Moore and so many All-Big Ten-caliber standouts turned down the NFL draft to stay in school and chase a national title. Boise State put them through a four-quarter stress test in the opener and the Ducks prevailed 34-27. Then they went down to Stillwater, Oklahoma, and got exposed by a rebuilt Oklahoma State squad in coach Dan Lanning's first loss to an unranked opponent in his Oregon tenure.
That 39-31 failure raised all sorts of questions and concerns about the Ducks and undeniably raised the stakes going forward for their CFP ambitions. Then they had to open Big Ten play on the road at No. 12 USC and watched Moore exit the game via an ambulance after a brutal targeting hit early in the second quarter. Lanning's squad responded to that new low with an impressive performance in the Coliseum. Backup QB Dylan Raiola played better than ever in throwing for 289 yards off the bench and leading six scoring drives in a 41-27 triumph over the Trojans. We'll see where the roller-coaster ride goes from here, but Oregon went through plenty in September. -- Max Olson
Which player defined the first month of the season?
There are a bunch of good options here, but there's only one real answer: Mississippi State's Kamario Taylor. The Bulldogs' QB has been a revelation, the type of highlight-reel generator we haven't seen since Lamar Jackson. Every week brings a new jaw-dropping moment.
But it's not just the ridiculous runs and unbelievable throws that have separated him. He has not just been fun, he has been really good. With another 360 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Missouri, Taylor has Mississippi State off to a 4-0 start and ready for a showdown against Alabama that could become the official coming-out party for college football's next big star. -- David Hale
Which coach's seat remains hot and which seat has cooled?
Nothing in the first month has turned down the temperature on Florida State's Mike Norvell, the highest-profile coach who entered the season squarely on the hot seat. The Seminoles are 2-0 against Group of 6 and FCS opponents, and 0-2 against power-conference foes. The pregame power outage on Labor Day night at Doak Campbell Stadium only delayed the boos from the home crowd, which resonated throughout a contest that SMU tried to give away but FSU simply couldn't take. Florida State's offense flexed early at Alabama, as the team built a 21-6 lead. But then the defense cratered, allowing 44 points in the final 39:42. FSU fired athletic director Michael Alford in mid-September, and Norvell certainly seems like he'll be the next to go as the Seminoles face a challenging October schedule that features rival Miami.
Wisconsin's Luke Fickell entered the fall on slightly more solid footing, as the school had given him more resources to get things right under new AD Shawn Eichorst. But Fickell needed to show immediate improvement, especially with desirable replacement candidates like New Mexico's Jason Eck and Wake Forest's Jake Dickert available. After pacing Notre Dame for a half at Lambeau Field, Wisconsin rallied from a 17-0 deficit at Penn State to stun the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium, recording its first win there since 2003, the Badgers largest comeback since 2006 and their first victory against an AP top-15 opponent in 11 tries under Fickell. The Badgers' remaining schedule does not include Ohio State, Oregon or Indiana, and a path to eight or nine wins -- and security for Fickell -- seems increasingly realistic. -- Adam Rittenberg
It's perhaps unfair to suggest Lincoln Riley's seat has turned to an inferno, but Saturday's 41-27 loss to an Oregon team playing without starting QB Dante Moore for much of the night felt like a final straw. Riley has had plenty of excuses for why the Trojans haven't reached their potential during his tenure, but he spent this offseason suggesting it had all been building toward 2026, and this was USC's season to make some real noise. Instead, the Trojans landed with a thud in their first big test of the season, and it's hard to see how he pulls out of this tailspin now.
When USC hired Riley, it was a coup -- a blue-blood program luring a top-five coach to Los Angeles. It seemed impossible to believe it wouldn't work. Instead, Riley wasted Caleb Williams' final season, USC struggled in its transition to the Big Ten and the 2026 team now faces a tough schedule that includes trips to Penn State and Indiana and a home date with Ohio State. Add in the fact that crosstown rival UCLA is off to a 4-0 start with an already beloved new coach and the Riley era feels like it's on its last legs. -- Hale
What was the most only-in-CFB moment so far?
Western Michigan had won the game. But then, Big Ten replay officials added a second to the clock. That allowed Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood to throw a touchdown on his second Hail Mary try, lifting the Wolverines to a controversial and stunning 13-12 victory over the Broncos.
With Western Michigan losing at home to Boise State and Michigan coincidentally falling on the final play to Iowa this past Saturday, "Clockgate" likely won't have any bearing on the College Football Playoff. But it did prompt the NCAA "to establish a standard timing protocol that ensures consistency in the administration of all college football games." The in-stadium clock always keeps the official time, not a conference replay booth. The NCAA also said that had protocols been followed, "the outcome of the game would have been different." In other words, Western Michigan should have won the game. But it didn't. Only in college football. -- Jake Trotter