RADIO
Brant's bold predictions for Week 4 of the 2026 college football season, including picks for Ole Miss-Florida, Oregon-USC, and more.
We are back for another awesome week of college football. While last weekend gave us a taste of conference play, many more teams will fight through their conference openers this weekend. A glorious weekend of the world’s best sport is upon us.
I did much better with last week’s bold predictions than I did the previous week, but I missed out on the shocking Texas A&M upset loss. I can’t miss out two weeks in a row, and I have included my prediction for the Aggies in this week’s column.
This is the point in the season where every team is still alive, and all fan bases have hope that a miracle season could be unfolding before their eyes. Every game matters, and every game is watchable. Check out my thoughts on this weekend’s games below as we enter the thick of the season.
Georgia Beats Oklahoma by 30+
The Sooners have been one of the most disappointing teams in college football thus far, losing to Michigan and narrowly beating New Mexico last week. John Mateer has continued to look like post-injury Mateer from a season ago while openly admitting he only found an open receiver late in last week's win because of fans screaming. The Sooners fan base is very pessimistic about the program right now.
That postgame presser offered lots of comments that were cause for concern, but this one takes the cake. pic.twitter.com/lyKk21UZrH
— Cayden McFarland (@caydenmc) September 20, 2026
This week, they have to travel to Athens for the SEC opener to take on a Georgia team that has been decimating opponents. The Bulldogs have not been tested yet, while Oklahoma has a road game in Ann Arbor under its belt. But the No. 2 team in the nation has looked dominant thus far.
Georgia is favored by 14 points over Oklahoma, but with the state of the program paired with star defensive tackle David Stone going down in practice this week, I’m hanging my hat on a Georgia beatdown so bad that it gets it elevated to the No. 1 spot in the polls.
I’m talking dominant from the first snap on both sides of the ball and winning by 30+ points. Gunner Stockton is a great and experienced college quarterback; Kirby Smart’s defense will not have the most challenging task with holding the Sooners offense, and Oklahoma is banged up on both sides of the ball.
The Sooners have a bye after this one before playing Texas, and I’m anticipating that it will be much needed.
Maryland Wins Big Ten Opener by Multiple Scores
The Terrapins played from behind all game last week when Virginia Tech came to town, but still managed to claw within nine points by the time the clock hit zero. This week, hot seat candidate Mike Locksley will be welcoming Bob Chesney’s UCLA Bruins to town for the team’s conference opener.
UCLA has looked explosive under Chesney thus far, exploding for 52 points last weekend against Purdue in its respective conference opener. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava has looked much improved in Chesney’s system, and the Bruins are undefeated with impressive wins over Cal, San Diego State, and Purdue.
Being favored on the road in the Big Ten is one thing, and being favored while traveling coast-to-coast just flat-out says that you are the better team. UCLA will make the 2,630-mile trip to Maryland to take on a hungry Terrapins team.
While Iamaleava has been great, Maryland sophomore quarterback Malik Washington has been awesome in his own right. Through three games, he’s completed 71.6% of his passes for 892 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions. Even in last week’s losing effort against Virginia Tech, he kept them in the game.
Malik Washington did everything he can to keep Maryland in this game on that last drive.
Incredible stuff.
Another name to keep a close eye on for the 2028 class. pic.twitter.com/I3u7Wf9S61
— Reason (@the_real_reason) September 20, 2026
The Terps are set to catch a hot UCLA team at a great time as it travels across the country to College Park, and I like Washington’s chances to orchestrate not only a home upset, but a multiple-score win over the Bruins.
Florida Rises to Top 10 After Beating Ole Miss
This line confused a lot of college football fans, with Florida favored by 3.5 points against the No. 4 team in the nation. I’m here to tell you that this line is on to something.
We all know that Trinidad Chambliss is one of college football’s most exciting players. After all, Chambliss has orchestrated nine go-ahead drives in the fourth quarter in his Rebels career, and he has only started 14 games at Ole Miss.
Chambliss has the big-game experience, and this one will be yet another big game despite not getting the recognition that last week’s game had.
While Chambliss was executing his late-game heroics against LSU last weekend, Florida was beating down on Auburn on the road in a game that was not as close as the final score indicated. The Gators offense looked genuinely explosive, which it has not in years. With playmakers like Jadan Baugh, Vernell Brown III, and Dallas Wilson, this is one of the SEC’s best offenses in Year 1 under Jon Sumrall and Buster Faulkner.
Florida’s stadium is going to be rocking in a way it hasn’t in years for the SEC home opener with Ole Miss coming to town, and college football fans are going to remember just how dangerous a place to play Gainesville can be when the Gators are on.
Give me Sumrall to get an even bigger statement win than he made last weekend in a game that he badly needs if he wants to return to the playoff this season, given the road trips to Texas and Georgia later this season.
Texas A&M Blown Out in Back-to-Back Weeks
Nobody foresaw the Aggies’ loss to Kentucky last week in their SEC opener, but Texas A&M just showed up flat-faced and allowed Will Stein to get whatever he wanted. It is possible that the Aggies were looking ahead to LSU, as they will be on the road in prime time this weekend.
Lane Kiffin’s Tigers are coming off a heartbreaking loss to Ole Miss, and they face the perfect bounce-back opportunity with another team coming off a devastating loss coming to town this weekend.
As much as I like Mike Elko as a coach, this one is going to be extremely tough to win. Marcel Reed has shown the capability to crumble in big-time situations, and the crowd in Baton Rouge will be rocking. I like LSU’s offense to get back on track, the defense to make some plays, and the Tigers to run away with this one comfortably, sending the Aggies home with back-to-back losses and plummeting out of the AP Top 25.
Ducks Continue Redemption Arc
Oregon’s ugly start to the season consisted of a narrow win over Boise State and a loss to Oklahoma State before Dan Lanning ran the score up on Portland State last Friday to the tune of an 84-0 win. The Ducks now open conference play on the road against rival USC, whom they have not lost to since 2016.
Lincoln Riley’s team is talented, but it is very young. Oregon, meanwhile, is full of experienced players who have endured the rigorous Big Ten schedule. USC has struggled defensively this season, giving up 35 points to Rutgers last weekend and 30 to Louisiana the week before. I expect the explosive Ducks offense to exploit that weakness.
Oregon has faced a whirlwind of problems already in this young season, but Lanning is the type of coach who can overcome those struggles and get his talented team back on track. The Ducks came into this season with championship aspirations, and I think those conversations could be rebooted following a statement win in Southern California this weekend.
