Well, that was unexpected.
As is usually the case, a week that looked relatively pedestrian on paper produced the most chaos.
In total, five of the nation’s top 11 teams lost, including four to unranked opponents.
One week after ascending to the top spot in the AP poll following a thrilling win over Georgia, Alabama was stunned by Vanderbilt, shaking up this week’s playoff picks. While the new 12-team playoff keeps the Tide firmly in the mix for a spot, its hopes for a top-four seed and opening-round bye certainly took a hit.
But the Tide were far from alone. Tennessee went into Arkansas and lost, 19-14. Michigan and USC traveled across the country for conference games at Washington and Minnesota, respectively, and both went down to defeat.
And then late at night, more than 13 hours after an epic “College GameDay,” Cal nearly took down No. 8 Miami before the Hurricanes rallied in the fourth quarter.
On the flip side, Ohio State and sublime freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith rolled past Iowa. Georgia bounced back from its loss against Alabama by downing Auburn. And Penn State cruised past UCLA.
One of the most impressive performances of the day came in the early window when Texas A&M demolished then-No. 9 Missouri, 41-10.
The Friday night result that most shook up the rankings was Syracuse’s overtime win at UNLV. The Rebels had been the most popular pick for the 12th seed as the highest ranked Group of 5 champion, an honor that now belongs to Boise State.
Here are our experts’ top 12 College Football Playoff picks (Power 4 conference champions receive the top four seeds):
Andrea Adelson: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. BYU 5. Oregon 6. Penn State 7. Georgia 8. Iowa State 9. Ole Miss 10. Tennessee 11. Clemson 12. Boise State
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. BYU 5. Oregon 6. Penn State 7. Alabama 8. Georgia 9. Clemson 10. Iowa State 11. Boise State 12. Notre Dame 12
Bill Connelly: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Iowa State 5. Penn State 6. Oregon 7. Georgia 8. Indiana 9. Alabama. 10. Clemson 11. Pittsburgh 12. Army
David Hale: 1. Texas 2. Ohio St 3. Miami 4. Iowa State 5. Oregon 6. Alabama 7. Georgia 8. Penn St 9. Clemson or BYU 10. Boise State 11. Tennessee 12. Notre Dame
Eli Lederman: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Utah 4. Miami 5. Alabama 6. Georgia 7. Oregon 8. Penn State 9. Clemson 10. Tennessee 11. Notre Dame 12. Boise State
Chris Low: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Clemson 4. BYU 5. Oregon 6. Penn State 7. Alabama 8. Georgia 9. Notre Dame 10. Tennessee 11. Ole Miss 12. Army
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Iowa State 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. Penn State 8. Indiana 9. Alabama 10. Clemson 11. Tennessee 12. Army
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Iowa State 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. Penn State 8. Alabama 9. Clemson 10. Notre Dame 11. Texas A&M 12. Boise State
Mark Schlabach: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Iowa State 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. Penn State 8. Alabama 9. Clemson 10. Tennessee 11. Notre Dame 12. Boise State
Jake Trotter: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. BYU 5. Oregon 6. Penn State 7. Alabama 8. Georgia 9. Clemson 10. Tennessee 11. Iowa State 12. Navy
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Iowa State 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. Alabama 8. Clemson 9. Penn State 10. Tennessee 11. Notre Dame 12. Boise State
Dave Wilson: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Iowa State 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. Alabama 8. Clemson 9. Penn State 10. Tennessee 11. Notre Dame 12. Boise State
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