Week four of the 2025-2026 college football season proved to be another great weekend of football. This week did not have as many ranked games as the previous weeks, but there were still some very big games with huge playoff implications.
The best matchups this week included number-11-ranked Oklahoma versus number-24-ranked Auburn and number-nine-ranked Illinois versus number-19-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. Number-four-ranked Miami going up against unranked Florida also was a big rivalry matchup.
While Illinois and Indiana was set to be a great, close-fought game, it turned into a beatdown as Indiana dominated with an astonishing 63-10 victory. California transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza had a career day as he threw for 267 yards and five touchdowns, on only two incompletions. An incredibly efficient and dominant performance from Mendoza makes him a strong contender in the Heisman race.
Auburn at Oklahoma was another largely ranked matchup with huge playoff implications. Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold also had a lot of added pressure coming into this game. Arnold was a former five-star quarterback coming out of high school, where he then committed to play for Oklahoma. After sitting out his freshman year, he was geared up for a big sophomore year with high expectations. Arnold then had a down year, as well as the Sooners, in which Arnold entered the transfer portal, committing to Auburn.
This game was a classic SEC game with both defenses playing really well. Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, the Heisman front runner, had another over 300-yard game with two touchdowns. To everyone’s surprise, Mateer actually broke his right thumb in just the first quarter of the game. This injury was still not enough for Auburn to win as Mateer still played great and the Oklahoma defense had an astonishing 10 sacks, a new school record.
In the end Oklahoma came out on top with a 24-17 win over the Tigers. Mateer is now undergoing surgery and is hopeful to make it back for a huge showdown against their Texas rivals.
