There were a lot of insane things that happened in week 4 of college football. You may be wondering, “How can week 5 get any better?” Well my friend, here’s how.
College Gameday This Week / Game of the Week
#5 Ohio State Buckeyes @ #14 Iowa Hawkeyes
The two Big Ten schools with mascots that are animals followed by “eyes” are going head to head in one of the most important B1G matchups of the seasons. Let’s start by talking about the new talk of the town, the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Iowa had been quietly putting on a show up until last week. They had to face off against Michigan in a top 20 matchup at the Big House, with the Wolverines coming off of a huge win against formely #11 Oklahoma. Did this faze Iowa? Seemingly not, as through it all the Hawkeyes kept it close. And when it mattered? Iowa came through. With just 2 seconds remaining in the game, down 5, and needing a miracle from the Michigan 16 yard line, Hank Brown calmed himself and threw a 16 yard toe-tapper to receiver Reese Vander Zee to give the Hawkeyes the walkoff win 20-19. Everything about this faceoff proved that Iowa could do it in all aspects of the game. Their offense, while historically mediocre, put on a true show in the final minutes of the game to get the road win. The Hawkeyes’ defense was excellent in this game too, stopping the Wolverines on third down 8 times; in other words, about 61% of the time. Overall, this Iowa team has true potential, and could realistically be a playoff team. But the one thing stopping them from that dream is… Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are coming off of a blowout win against Illinois last week, and it’s no shocker that it happened. Everyone was expecting it. What people didn’t expect about Ohio State is that they would lose to Texas in week 2 after going up 23-3. To the Buckeyes, this game is their rebound game. They have to win to reinstate themselves as one of the top schools in the nation. Texas has been #1 ever since they beat Ohio State, and everybody was wondering: does this say something about Texas, or does it say something about Ohio State? Now, we finally get to answer that at the conclusion of Saturday’s game. Because while Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith, and all the surrounding pieces of the Buckeyes may be top notch, there’s something stronger than skill. Pure and utter will.
Is Iowa legit? Are the Buckeyes able to penetrate the Hawkeye defense? Who can do it all? The showdown goes down at 3:30 PM EST on CBS.
Hotline’s Call / Secondary Game of the Week
#7 Alabama Crimson Tide @ #16 Mississippi State Bulldogs
There’s only been 2 editions of this article series to this point, but we already have our first team to be here in back to back weeks: Mississippi State. Let’s have a chat about them.
The Bulldogs have started off their 2026 campaign in unusually spectacular fashion. They started off their season by routing Louisiana-Monroe and Minnesota, before winning in shootouts against South Carolina and Missouri. The Missouri game was more than just a game, though, as it proved that Mississippi State could fare against the top teams. Missouri was ranked #19 going in, but came out ranked #25 and barely clinging on after they lost to the Starkville natives by 7. You might be wondering, where did all of this come from? What changed from 2025 to 2026 that made the other SEC Bulldog team good again? The answer to that would be simple. Kamario Taylor. The sophomore Mississippi native is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, if not the best. He’s tied for the most passing touchdowns of any quarterback in college football, he’s 9th in QBR, and he’s 10th in passing yards. His only flaw is that he’s thrown 2 interceptions this season, one against South Carolina and one against Missouri. While he may be a Heisman contender, there’s one problem headed his way that he hasn’t yet seen. The Alabama Crimson Tide.
The main thing I’ll be talking about is Alabama’s defense. The Tide has a team total 11 sacks this year, with 6 interceptions, 3 pick sixes, and 4 forced fumbles. Alabama’s defense is forcing things to go their way every game, and they have to be able to continue it against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are Alabama’s first true test of the year, as they blew out South Carolina last week. Keelon Russell has been good too, throwing for 1,129 yards, he’s 7th in QBR. And for being a redshirt freshman for the Tide, that’s some pretty good numbers. The major flaw of Alabama is their third down efficiency. They’ve only converted about 46% of their third downs, and it really affects how they move the ball. As long as they can get things going early, the Tide will have a major chance to win this one in Starkville.
The team that wins this one is hard to predict, as both teams have many reasons as to why they could win. Either way, we’ll see it go down at noon EST on ABC.
Group of Six Game of the Week
Eastern Michigan Eagles @ UMass Minutemen
This pick for G6 game of the week is solely based on one thing. History. Let’s talk.
Eastern Michigan is coming into this game hoping to spoil an unlikely surprise, as they are 3 point underdogs against the Minutemen. Being a lower level MAC team, you aren’t gonna see a lot of big upsets from the Eagles, but there’s a chance they spoil UMass’s run at school history on Saturday. Eastern Michigan’s senior quarterback Noah Kim is top 40 in passing yards, so there may be room for him and the Eagles to make some good ground, but everything goes in favor of UMass. Here’s why.
UMass is 4-0 for the first time since 2007, which was 4 years prior to their jump to the FBS. They have not had a season like this since their move to the FBS level, and there’s a clear reason why. In win percent since 2010 in the FBS, UMass is the worst team. They have a win percent of just .188 since their jump in 2012, worse than Kansas and Kent State in that time period. And, just like the Jayhawks of Kansas in 2022, the Minutemen have finally gotten their shot at being good. They started off their season shocking the college football world, winning their first game since 2024 against Rutgers, a Big Ten school, beating the Scarlet Knights 37-21 on the road. Everyone was rooting for UMass now, and it carried on into their “warmup” games against FCS teams Sacred Heart and Stonehill. But after that, they crushed FBS newbie and MAC conference opponent Sacramento State 35-6. The Minutemen are on a roll, and haven’t score less than 35 in a single game this season. None of the players on UMass’s roster have been top 20 in any stat, but as a team, they’re good enough to take down MAC opponents, and they showed that. All the Minutemen are hoping for this Saturday is a win, to bring them to 5-0 for the first time EVER in the program’s history.
Whether UMass gets the fabled win to set a new program record for season start or not, this one will be a fun one to watch, not just for fans of elite MACtion, but for fans of all of college football; the Minutemen are undefeated, and looking for more. This one will start at 3:30 PM EST on Saturday on ESPN+.
Thanks for sticking around for another edition of Call the Hotline. I won’t be doing an AP Top 25 poll release, as I am on a cruise as of the time this is published. To all a good weekend of college football!
