CFB Week 4 Dive: Napier On The Brink, Tennessee Finds Offense, Arch Has One Cupcake Left To Eat, CFP Heats Up

We aren't a month into the college football season and there are currently two coach openings, after UCLA fired DeShaun Foster, while Virginia Tech pulled the plug on Brent Pry. 

The days of athletic departments waiting until the season concludes to start making changes are over, given the new transfer portal rules that are close to being finalized, along with the amount of money being spent through revenue-sharing. 

Thankfully, the third weekend of the season had fans gasping all across the country. Whether it was in Knoxville, as Kirby Smart once again played the role of kryptonite against Tennessee, or Mike Elko leading Texas A&M into South Bend and leaving with a monumental win over Notre Dame, there were plenty of important moments for teams. 

Trey's CFB Takes: Georgia-Tennessee Thriller, Texas A&M Stuns Notre Dame, Vanderbilt Shocks South Carolina

Given the current landscape of the sport, it's fascinating to see some of the ‘upsets’ that are taking place across football. Two of those transpired with teams from the Palmetto State, with Clemson losing on the road to Georgia Tech, and Vanderbilt strolling into Columbia to make good on a Diego Pavia promise that the Dores would beat South Carolina. 

All of these outcomes are evidence that every single weekend is going to be a battle, just ask Ohio State and Texas. 

UCLA, Virginia Tech Make Decisions That Will Have Huge Impacts

While it would be easy to question the timing of these firings, schools can no longer wait for apathy to fully set in. Even though you will see fan engagement disappear in Blacksburg and Westwood, I don't know that it's a massive problem at Virginia Tech. We've all seen how much support the Hokies have within that passionate group of fans, but the same cannot be said for the Bruins. This one is a major problem. 

Speaking with multiple people around the UCLA football program, the lack of excitement is obviously hurting morale within the athletic department. Until the school starts taking football seriously, you're not going to see the Bruins become a threat in the Big Ten. It's unfortunate for a brand like UCLA, but they are way past ‘apathy’ in Westwood. 

UCLA Fires DeShaun Foster, Virginia Tech Ousts Brent Pry After 0-3 Starts Amid College Football Chaos

A school like Virginia Tech can recover with one good hire, but the same cannot be said for UCLA. It's also not as if they were putting 30,000 fans in the stadium for the home opener, so this was a problem that has been an underlying issue for a while. Add on the fact that they do not have the NIL resources like other schools in the Big Ten, and you've got a dire situation for a program that could once sell recruits just based off the name. 

Oh, and the whole Nico Iamaleava dilemma that occurred over the past five months has become a hot topic of conversation. It wasn't as if there were multiple suitors for the quarterback, and when DeShaun Foster decided to handle the recruitment of Iamaleava, it became a distraction for those that have been around the program. 

Additionally, players will now have a 30-day window to discuss transfer possibilities for the 2026 season, and the UCLA roster could take a pretty big hit. 

Would it surprise anyone if Nico Iamaleava decided to enter the transfer portal once again? The answer to that is no. 

Billy Napier Coaching For His Job Against Miami? 

If there was some sort of physical crossroads on the Florida interstate that had a sign hanging above the exit that read ‘This Is It For Napier’, it would lead to South Florida this weekend for the Gators showdown with Miami. 

The conversations surrounding quarterback DJ Lagway have become nauseating for Florida fans, even though Billy Napier continues to try and sugarcoat the narrative. By now, the excuses are just a word salad that is not sitting well with boosters that are helping pay for some of these contracts. 

As for Lagway himself, he certainly has all the potential to be a great quarterback, but Napier cannot continue to put out these types of quotes regarding his play on the field, or lack there of. 

"I think we all understand the dynamic here," Napier said following the LSU loss. "You know, this was his fourth week of full practice. You know, he's had a very unique offseason. He's missed quite a bit of time. But I would say that what he's going to say to you is that he's not going to use that as a crutch."

OK, his fourth week of practice since returning from a shoulder injury, though he also looks like he's playing timid when rushing outside the pocket. That fact is that this Florida offense is not good enough to win big games, and it's showing. Five interceptions against LSU was the latest setback, with at least three of those coming against 2 or 3 man coverage. 

If Florida heads south to Miami and loses by two touchdowns, or continues to commit atrocious penalties and look lethargic at times, this is not going to end well for Billy Napier. Following the game this weekend against the Hurricanes, the Gators will have a bye-week before hosting Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns. 

Lose three in a row, two of them coming against in-state opponents, and that week off will come at the worst time for Napier, given that plenty of decision makers will have enough time to insert an interim coach and have the team reset. I'm not reporting that there would be some type of decision on Sunday morning if they were to lose, but I'm pointing out the obvious that Florida cannot afford to continue sliding. 

Tennessee Has An Offense, Still A Shot At CFP After Georgia Loss

The Vols scored 38 points against a Georgia defense, and still lost. If you had told me that before the season, I might've laughed you out of the conversation. But, Joey Aguilar has picked up the uptempo offense of Josh Heupel in a shorter timeframe than I expected. 

Even in defeat, and Kirby Smart would be the first to tell you, the Vols are in a much better situation on that side of the ball than most would have projected. On a side note, Aguilar does need to sharpen up his long balls, with at least two of them just thrown up for his receiver to grab, in what looked to be under-thrown balls. Credit to Chris Brazelle for bailing out his quarterback. 

Walking out of Neyland Stadium late Saturday night, I actually felt as though this Tennessee team could fight for a playoff spot if they continued getting that type of output. 

As for the defense, when you're missing that many contributors, a team like Georgia will make you pay. But, the Vols still had at least three opportunities to win that game on Saturday, so that's something to hang their hat on. 

What's Up With Arch Manning? One More Cupcake To Eat

The Texas quarterback was the first to admit that the boos Texas received on Saturday afternoon during the UTEP game were warranted. Right now, it's as if the Longhorns are driving a vehicle with a manual transmission, and they keep getting stuck with the clutch. 

Going 11-of-25 passing, 114 yards, with one touchdown and one interception is not what Texas fans had in mind before the season started. 

"I've got to play better," Arch Manning said postgame. "A lot of quarterbacks — a lot of players — want to be great. I know I'm better than this."

Ok, well, he needs to figure out what's wrong with this situation because the Longhorns only have one more cupcake to eat before SEC play begins. 

We're only three weeks into the 2025 season, and there are plenty of questions lingering about a number of teams. Crazy enough, the Vanderbilt Commodores are currently college football playoff contenders. 

Did you expect to read that before the first game started? Yea, and I didn’t expect two teams to already have vacancies and Notre Dame to be 0-2. 

Let me know what you think about the 2025 season so far. Email me at Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com