No one does angst quite like college football fans. It's a feeling that several big-brand programs around the country are familiar with right now, as their teams get off to disappointingly slow starts.
But is that angst valid, or is it premature? That's what we're here to determine, as look at four schools — USC, Oklahoma, Michigan and Missouri — coming off of lackluster showings in Week 3 and whether it's time to hit the panic button or take a deep breath.
USC Trojans
The Trojans started off the season strong ... that is, until they had to fly east to New Jersey to take on the barely fighting Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, also known as the team that lost to both UMass and Boston College to start its 2026 campaign. USC has always had trouble when they travel east; whether their bodies cannot adjust to the time zone or they just don’t like leaving Los Angeles, the results speak for themselves, including a prior loss to Maryland and this ugly 42-35 win.
USC was able to win this game on a pick-six which went the entire length of the field. Otherwise, Rutgers was set to go in and potentially win the game, giving the Trojans the worst loss of the season for any College Football Playoff contender. Jayden Maiava has USC 4-0 heading into a huge matchup Saturday against Oregon, completing 75.7 percent of his passes with 1,173 yards, 12 touchdowns and only one interception. The offense isn't the problem, as is always the case with Lincoln Riley at the helm.
But the defense giving up 35 points to Rutgers is the bigger concern, and this will need to be fixed quickly with Oregon just putting up 84 points on Portland State. Of course, USC is not Portland State, but the Ducks are determined to lay on the style points after already suffering an upset at Oklahoma State. If the USC defense does not get better, this game will get ugly in a hurry. With Maiava at quarterback, the Trojans will put up points; It will be the other side of the ball that determines how far they go, and how hot Riley's seat ultimately gets.
Verdict: I'm nervous. After Oregon, USC still must travel back east to play Penn State, Indiana and Wisconsin, and gets Washington and Ohio State at home.
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan barely escaped against Western Michigan in Week 1 and followed that up by beating an Oklahoma team which turned out to have an offense just as bad (if not worse) as the Wolverines'. We have now seen both teams play the same UTEP Miners team at home. In Week 1, Oklahoma cruised to a 51-0 win; in Week 3, Michigan was down 7-0 and 14-7 before pulling away for a 51-17 victory.
Bryce Underwood is still a problem at quarterback, and Michigan has a brutal conference schedule in the Big Ten. This will make it unlikely the Wolverines can make a run to the Playoff. Whether it's time to panic in Ann Arbor depends on your expectations for this team in year one under Kyle Whittingham. If you just hope they get to eight wins, things look alright. But for our purposes, given the investment made in Underwood, we are looking at Michigan as a Playoff contender — and that's a dimmer outlook.
Verdict: High alert. Start panicking immediately!
Oklahoma Sooners
51-0 over UTEP was cute, but the Miners stink. Most people expected the Sooners to win in Ann Arbor after Michigan's dreadful showing in Week 1; little did we know that Oklahoma’s offense is just as putrid as Michigan’s.
This fact was further confirmed when Oklahoma was only able to score 14 points on Saturday against New Mexico in an eight-point win. John Mateer is a problem at quarterback, but the other issue is that the Sooners have only averaged 3.3 yards per rush.
Lucky for the Sooners, their defense is among the best in the country and has allowed just 215.3 yards per game. Even with a W on the scoreboard this week, though, Oklahoma fell out of the AP Top 25 rankings. This shows the way voters are feeling right now about the prospects of this program moving forward.
Saturday will mark the beginning of a challenging SEC schedule for the Sooners, something they have needed to deal with in every one of their years in the conference. Following their game this week at Georgia, Oklahoma will have games remaining against Texas, at Mississippi State, at Florida, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and at Missouri to finish the season.
This is another year in which, if the defense is not elite, the Sooners will be looking at a losing record. With the defense they have, they can stay afloat, but their Playoff hopes have sunk quicker than the Titanic.
Verdict: Time for a panic attack. Especially since Brent Venables just got an extension.
Missouri Tigers
Missouri is a different topic than all the other teams on this list. Not only were the Tigers not considered a championship contender coming into the season, but many analysts did not think they would even make a bowl game. Despite this, Missouri was ranked No. 25 in the initial AP rankings and are still undefeated after beating Troy 27-17 on Saturday.
Missouri lost most of their defense to the draft and graduation, not to mention starting QB Beau Pribula. Eli Drinkwitz brought in Austin Simmons from Ole Miss, who saw the writing on the wall for with the Rebels after Trinidad Chambliss' emergence. It's safe to say both teams are happy with the results: Chambliss might be the best player in college football, while Simmons has compiled 635 passing yards with eight touchdowns and 0 interceptions through three games.
Were it not for the tragic offseason shooting of running back Ahmad Hardy, the Tigers would be in much better shape. With the way Simmons is currently playing, they might have been able to challenge for the final at-large spot in the Playoff. With Hardy out indefinitely, Missouri has taken advantage of an easy start to their schedule — and when SEC play comes calling, such as this week and upstart Mississippi State, things are set to change. Still, given all the upheaval, it's hard not to feel good about where Drinkwitz has established this program's floor.
Verdict: The only panic in Columbia will be when Eli Drinkwitz leaves for a different job.
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