USA Today Includes Three SEC Teams In Week 4 'Fraud Alert'

USA Today Sports took a look at some of the biggest disappointments from Week 4 of the college football season, labeling several teams as possible “frauds” after their latest performances.

Three SEC teams made Jordan Mendoza’s list: No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 17 Tennessee and No. 25 Missouri.

Ole Miss landed on the list after getting blown out 52-28 at Florida, while Tennessee was included following its 20-17 home loss to Texas. Missouri also made the cut after blowing a fourth-quarter lead in a loss at Mississippi State.

Here’s what Mendoza had to say about each SEC team:

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No. 12 Ole Miss
The case: After the emotional win over Lane Kiffin and LSU, Ole Miss was completely outplayed by Florida in a wire-to-wire 52-28 win for the Gators. It was the Rebels' first double-digit loss since 2023.

The verdict: Not guilty. While it appears the LSU game was indeed Ole Miss' "Super Bowl," the game came with exceptions. First, playing in "The Swamp" is no easy task for any visitor, especially with a clearly improved Florida Team. Second, the Rebels didn't have Kewan Lacy, and it's naturally going to be tough without a star player.

The bottom line: Ole Miss took a bad loss in a brutal environment. That's survivable. The Rebels can still bounce back. But the margin for error is shrinking, and eventually the conversation has to shift from why they lost to whether they're good enough to overcome it.

No. 17 Tennessee
The case: Playing Texas for the first time at Neyland Stadium, Tennessee gave the Longhorns a scare, limiting the play of Arch Manning but unable to pull off the upset in a 20-17 loss.

The verdict: Jury is still out. This game was a weird one. It was hard to tell if it was a case of "is Tennessee actually good?" or "is Texas just not as good?" At times, Tennessee did look good defensively, but the offense couldn't find the end zone until there was two minutes left and Colin Simmons already caused havoc on the Volunteers offensive line. There's still more evidence needed to determine a verdict.

No. 25 Missouri
The case: The Tigers became the latest victim to the Kamario Taylor hype train, with the Mississippi State quarterback torching the defense for 360 yards and led a fourth-quarter comeback to get the cowbells ringing in Starkville.

The verdict: Guilty. We're still doing this in 2026? In case, anyone didn't realize, the Tigers are ranked quite often when there's loads of evidence that suggests they shouldn't be. Since 2024, Missouri is 1-9 against ranked teams, and despite not being able to beat quality opponents, it somehow stays ranked. This is not only a team guilty of fraud, but there's some collusion happening to make sure Missouri looks better than what it really is.

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Do you agree?