College football Week 4 predictions: Best bets, picks against the spread

Nypost · Sep 25, 2026 · 1222 words · By Howie Kussoy

Team and Player Performance Analysis College Football Betting

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Generate a natural audio summary of this story

Daily briefing

What to know about Team and Player Performance Analysis

Oregon entered this month as a national title favorite, returning a potential No.

Claims checked 33

Techniques found 3

Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center0%

Right100%

1 source compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Oregon entered this month as a national title favorite, returning a potential No.

Why it matters

1 NFL draft pick at quarterback (Dante Moore), one of the nation’s best defenses, and a head coach (Dan Lanning) who was 48-8 all time and coming off a playoff semifinal appearance.

Common ground

After a near-upset to Boise State and an unthinkable upset to Oklahoma State, the Ducks are no longer favored to even make the postseason tournament (-240 to miss).

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Team and Player Performance Analysis story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that the Wildcats’ 41-point outburst against Colorado?
How does this story connect Team and Player Performance Analysis with College Football Betting over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/09/25/betting/college-football-week-4-predictions-best-b…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 80% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 33 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 23

verified Verified By Reference 4

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

check_circle Corroborated 1

help

Claim 1: “the Wildcats’ 41-point outburst against Colorado”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided regarding a game between the Wildcats and Colorado.

schedule

Claim 2: “Austin Simmons — who played ahead of Trinidad Chambliss before getting injured last year”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 3: “Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack has never let LaNorris Sellers run wild.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 4: “the Trojans gave up 35 points at Rutgers, one week after allowing 30 to Louisiana.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results for this claim returned irrelevant content (Telegram links) and no football scores for USC against Rutgers or Louisiana.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A group dedicated to videographers of Hijab and Arab girls in the streets. ... If you have Telegram, you can view and join HIJAB VIRAL INDONESIA right away.
https://tv.yandex.com/search?text=telegram++arabic+girls&lr=…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — You can view and join @arab_6x right away.
https://t.me/arab_6x

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — You can view and join @arabporngif right away.
https://telegram.me/arabporngif

schedule

Claim 5: “The Tide’s issues — being held under 30 points in both meetings”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “The Irish will extend their program-best streak by winning their 14th straight game by double digits”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 7: “USC hasn’t finished a season inside the top 20 since 2022.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence does not contain information regarding USC's final rankings for the seasons following 2022.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Notre Dame–USC football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and USC Trojans football team of the Uni…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame–USC_football_rivalr…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Oregon–USC football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Oregon Ducks and the USC Trojans of the Big Ten Conference. Previously they both played in the Pac-12 Conference, be…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon–USC_football_rivalry

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Victory Bell is the trophy that is awarded to the winner of the UCLA–USC football rivalry game. The game is an American college football rivalry between the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans, part of th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Bell_(UCLA–USC)

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 8: “Darian Mensah will do whatever he wants, entering with the highest completion percentage (89.9) and second-most passing touchdowns (11) in the nation.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “Illini coach Bret Bielema has covered 19 of his past 27 games as a road dog.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 10: “This is the fourth time in Lincoln Riley’s five seasons at USC that the Trojans have started at least 4-0.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While evidence confirms Lincoln Riley is in his fifth year at USC, there is no specific data provided in the search results regarding the number of times they started 4-0.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 USC Trojans football team represents the University of Southern California (USC) as a third-year member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_USC_Trojans_football_team

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Garrett Travis Riley (born September 11, 1989) is an American football coach who is the quarterback coach at Missouri. He was previously the offensive coordinator at Clemson, TCU, and SMU.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_Riley

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lincoln Michael Riley (born September 5, 1983) is an American college football coach and former player who is the head football coach at the University of Southern California. Riley previously served …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Riley

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 11: “Riley hasn’t reached the playoff since 2019 and has never won a playoff game despite coaching a combined seven seasons with three Heisman winners/future No. 1 picks (Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Caleb Williams) and a future Super Bowl MVP (Jalen Hurts).”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence confirms Riley coached Jalen Hurts and is the head coach at USC, but it does not provide his playoff win/loss record or the specific date of his last playoff appearance.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Herlin Riley (born February 15, 1957) is an American jazz drummer and a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herlin_Riley

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 12: “inept Sooners attack, which is ranked 94th despite two of their three games coming against UTEP and New Mexico.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 13: “Howie Kussoy has long been the New York Post’s main handicapper in college basketball (since 2011) and college football (since 2013).”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 14: “whose defense has posted back-to-back shutouts and held QB Aidan Chiles’ offenses under 14 points in consecutive years.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 15: “Under Riley, the Trojans are 6-13 against ranked teams.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources explicitly state that Lincoln Riley is 6-13 against ranked teams during his time as USC's coach.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Makai Lemon (born June 2, 2004) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, wi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makai_Lemon

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 16: “When Utah’s eighth-ranked run defense takes control”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 17: “Oregon entered this month as a national title favorite, returning a potential No. 1 NFL draft pick at quarterback (Dante Moore), one of the nation’s best defenses, and a head coach (Dan Lanning) who was 48-8 all time and coming off a playoff semifinal appearance.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence mentions Dan Lanning's record in relation to Chip Kelly (46-7) and his tenure as head coach, but does not explicitly confirm the specific 48-8 all-time record or the playoff semifinal appearance mentioned in the claim.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Oregon Ducks football program is a college football team for the University of Oregon, located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a membe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Ducks_football

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Oregon Ducks football team represents the University of Oregon as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team is led by fifth-year head co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Oregon_Ducks_football_tea…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Daniel Arthur Lanning (born April 10, 1986) is an American college football coach who serves as the head football coach at the University of Oregon. He was previously the defensive coordinator and out…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Lanning

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 18: “Jake Dickert — who led Wake Forest to nine wins in his first season — is 10-4 against the spread against ranked opponents and 6-3 against the number as an underdog since arriving in Winston-Salem.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 19: “Iowa — which has allowed a total of 13 points in three games — is 5-0-1 against the spread in its past six road games.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 20: “the Hurricanes’ recent 77-7 win over Florida A&M.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 21: “Chip Kelly left Oregon nearly 14 years ago.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm the date Chip Kelly left Oregon.

schedule

Claim 22: “Keelon Russell, who has led the Tide to at least 45 points in each of his first three starts”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 23: “an offense averaging more yards per game (471.5) than Alabama, Miami, Indiana and over 100 other teams in the nation.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 24: “Matt Campbell — who finished just two of his 10 seasons at Iowa State with a ranked team”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 25: “Coming off an 11-win season, the Utes — who averaged 38 points per game last season”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 26: “The Bulldogs are due for offensive regression — averaging more than 59 points per game”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 27: “The previous three times, USC suffered its first loss in its first meeting against a ranked team.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence discusses Riley's struggles against ranked opponents generally, but does not provide the specific pattern of losses following 4-0 starts.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Lincoln Riley struggles against ranked opponents at USC.Riley entered this season 4-10 against ranked opponents, with no wins against a team in the top 10. The first opportunity to flip the script cam…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/bigten/2025/10/1…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Oregon is the first of four remaining matchups this season for USC against nationally ranked opponents, joining No. 13 Penn State, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 5 Indiana. And if the Trojans intend on reac…
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/lincoln-rile…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Разберем, как исправить ошибку A JavaScript error occurred in the main process при запуске Discord, Skype или Faceit в Windows 11/10/7.
https://rutube.ru/video/47224b46b7df8d7329788c328bf7a204/

info

Claim 28: “Oregon... has averaged 39 points in Lanning’s two wins over Riley, including a 42-27 win last season”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence does not contain the specific scores or the average points for Oregon's wins over Lincoln Riley.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ATS_SportshowThe Oklahoma Sooners and Texas A&M Aggies got major wins in the recruiting department today, with A&M ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzsRuVnO0QE

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Oregon St Baylor Baseball. Oregon State outfielder Easton Talt delivered his second walk-off hit of the season Tuesday night, when the Beavers beat the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs 4-3 in 12 innings at G…
https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2025/04/extra-inning-walk…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In Victorian Britain, children as young as three or four years of age, worked up to 16 hours a day in coal mines, in cotton mills and as chimney sweeps. The father of the house often worked in a facto…
https://reshak.ru/otvet/otvet_txt.php?otvet1=/spotlight11/im…

schedule

Claim 29: “leading the Big 12 contender to 142 points in their first three games.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 30: “the Aggies quarterback had four total touchdowns and 108 rushing yards in a 49-25 win last season.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 31: “Vols freshman Faizon Brandon — an 18-year-old who went 10-for-21 in his only game against a legitimate team (Georgia Tech)”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 32: “a quarterback (Jaylen Raynor) who is 0-4 against power conference teams — with one touchdown, four interceptions and a 52.4 completion percentage — and ranks last in the Big 12 in passing yards.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 33: “the Rebels, whose shaky defense will play its first road game of the season.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.