Jadan Baugh's Heisman campaign, Oregon lead college football winners, losers from Week 4
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No running back has won the Heisman Trophy since Alabama’s Derrick Henry (2015), who was the first since Alabama’s Mark Ingram (2009), who was the first since Southern California’s Reggie Bush (2005), who was the first since Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne (1999).
Quarterbacks rule college football's top individual award, with a brief blip for transcendent, do-everything talents such as former Colorado star Travis Hunter (2024).
But this year might be different. Florida running back Jaden Baugh is making a case for himself after going for 142 yards and three scores in the No. 22 Gators’ 52-28 win against No. 6 Ole Miss.
The win proclaims the Gators as legitimate College Football Playoff and national championship contenders in coach Jon Sumrall’s first season. Florida has scored at least 40 points in each of its first four games for the first time since 2001.
Baugh is the face of this rebirth after the Gators’ disappointing run under former coach Billy Napier.
He led the team with 673 yards as a freshman in 2024 and took a big step forward last season, going for 1,170 yards on 5.3 yards per carry despite getting little help from an underachieving passing game.
Baugh has been outstanding so far in 2026. He had 160 yards and three scores against Florida Atlantic. Another 136 yards on 9.7 yards per carry and two scores against Campbell. Last week against Auburn, he went for 162 yards with another three touchdowns.
To win the Heisman, a running back has to put up gaudy numbers in an elite conference for one of the nation’s best teams. In every way, Baugh is making himself impossible to ignore.
Also in the SEC, No. 1 Texas had just enough in the tank to hold off No. 13 Tennessee for a 20-17 win. Arch Manning completed 14 of 19 attempts for 201 yards with an interception and the Longhorns were held under 270 yards of offense for the third time since joining the SEC.
Florida, Oregon and Deion Sanders lead this week’s biggest winners and losers:
Winners
Oregon
No. 16 Oregon lost star quarterback Dante Moore to injury after a violent and illegal hit in the second quarter but rallied behind backup Dylan Raiola for a 41-27 win against No. 12 Southern California. For the umpteenth year in a row, the Trojans look like frauds and pretenders under coach Lincoln Riley, who is more likely than not coaching out the string in Los Angeles. After losing to Oklahoma State and being put on the ropes on Saturday, the way the Ducks responded means they should hang around in the Big Ten and playoff chase even if Moore mises extended time. Oregon clearly has one of the nation’s top backups in Raiola, a two-year starter at Nebraska who went 19 of 25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns in reserve.
Texas
The win against Tennessee puts the Longhorns among the weekend’s winners, if only because of the tornado of negativity that would’ve come from another loss on the road to a ranked opponent. You can thank edge rusher Colin Simmons, who tied a program record with five sacks. But the offense gained just 262 yards, averaged just 1.7 yards per carry and turned the ball over twice, and Texas as a team committed 11 penalties for 115 yards. While the Longhorns are unlikely to fall from No. 1 in the new US LBM Coaches Poll, this was not anywhere close to a performance worthy of the best team in the nation.
Kamario Taylor
Mississippi State’s second-year rising star outdueled No. 21 Missouri’s Austin Simmons as the Bulldogs won 31-24 to likely earn a spot in this week’s Top 25. Simmons passed for 295 yards and three scores, continuing his strong play since transferring from Ole Miss. But Taylor completed 27 of 38 attempts for 360 yards and three touchdowns of his own, including a pair in the fourth quarter to reverse the Tigers’ 24-17 lead.
LSU
Lane Kiffin and No. 11 LSU got back on track after last week’s loss to Mississippi by taking out some frustration on suddenly plummeting Texas A&M. Up 14-3 at halftime, the Tigers popped for 21 points in the third quarter for a 35-6 win over the No. 20 Aggies, who can already be written out of the playoff hunt. Sam Leavitt threw for 312 yards on 13.6 yards per attempt while A&M junior Marcel Reed struggled again, completing just 10 of 26 attempts for 106 yards.
UCLA
The red-hot Bruins are starting to resemble 2024 Indiana, which adds up: new coach Bob Chesney replaced Curt Cignetti at James Madison and took the Dukes to even greater heights on the FBS level. UCLA moved to 4-0 and should earn heavy Top 25 consideration after destroying Maryland 54-3 behind 135 yards of offense from running back Wayne Knight and a pair of defensive touchdowns. For the Terrapins, this loss represents the beginning of the end for Mike Locksley’s tenure after eight seasons.
First-year coaches (some, not all)
Six new hires will head into October still unbeaten: Sumrall, Chesney, Virginia Tech’s James Franklin, No. 15 Utah’s Morgan Scalley, James Madison’s Billy Napier and South Florida’s Brian Hartline. That’s of the 31 first-year coaches in the Bowl Subdivision, counting interim hires.
Jake Dickert
Dickert has become one of the top coaches to watch in the Power Four after Wake Forest won nine games last season, his first after coming over from Washington State, and then moved to 3-1 this year with a 30-27 win against No. 19 Louisville. Taking advantage of two missing Louisville starters in the secondary, Wake quarterback Gio Lopez threw for 225 yards on just 19 attempts. Look for Dickert to be connected with several Power Four openings this winter.
Boise State
Boise’s 32-7 win at Western Michigan should settle the debate over which Group of Six team stands above the rest heading into conference play. Joining an earlier win against Memphis and a narrow loss to No. 16 Oregon, Boise has built a very strong non-conference resume with Pac-12 action set to begin next weekend against Utah State.
Losers
Ole Miss
One loss doesn’t do anything fatal to any Power Four team’s playoff odds, especially when you consider the Rebels have already stacked wins against Louisville and No. 11 LSU. That win against the Tigers should also prevent any major fall in this week’s Coaches Poll. There’s also a very good chance that Ole Miss was simply overwhelmed by a very good team after an emotional high. But there are obvious concerns coming out of the Swamp, including the play of an ineffective run defense and two turnovers.
Oklahoma
Forget the playoff. The focus for No. 24 Oklahoma now becomes reaching bowl eligibility after losing 41-13 to No. 2 Georgia. The score paints an accurate picture of the Bulldogs’ complete ownership of a game that was never in doubt. John Mateer turned the ball over three times in a three-drive span in the second quarter, with an interception, one fumble returned 85 yards for a score and another that set up a short field and another Georgia touchdown. The Sooners are on the short list for the nation’s biggest disappointment.
Deion Sanders
There are eight games left in the Deion Sanders era at Colorado after a 23-13 loss to Baylor that officially erases any goodwill from a season-opening win against Georgia Tech and sets the Buffaloes on track for an ugly conference season. Sanders is clearly grasping at straws after kicking multiple players off the team after last week’s ugly loss to Northwestern and then pulling starting quarterback Julian Lewis at halftime against the Bears in favor of backup Isaac Wilson; the move did spark the Buffaloes’ one touchdown drive, but Wilson went 12 of 25 for 156 yards. Sanders went 9-4 in 2024 thanks to Hunter but is 9-19 otherwise and just 2-17 in Big 12 play.
Tennessee
This summer’s extended quarterback competition eventually landed on true freshman Faizon Brandon, who has high-level talent but lacks the experience necessary to lead the Volunteers back to the playoff. Brandon did finish strong against Texas, completing five of his six throws with a 30-yard touchdown to draw within a field goal with minutes to play. But too often he held the ball and took too many sacks. Tennessee’s decision to go with promise over proven production through the transfer portal has capped this team’s potential.
Shane Beamer
An uncompetitive 49-18 loss to No. 8 Alabama spells more trouble for Beamer. Based on this and last week’s loss to Mississippi State, the Gamecocks don’t seem up to the challenge of a brutal schedule, meaning things could deteriorate in October and lead to a serious possibility of a midseason change. Next week against Kentucky is huge for any chance of getting to six wins this season and might be the biggest game of Beamer’s tenure.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jadan Baugh's Heisman campaign, Oregon lead college football winners, losers from Week 4
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