In the fourth week of the college football season, the matchups provided the first look at the top-tier teams in their new conferences. The USC Trojans began their Big Ten season on the road against the Michigan Wolverines, and the Oklahoma Sooners began their inaugural SEC season with a visit from the Tennessee Volunteers. Those teams figured to have a big role in the College Football Playoff race.
The Wolverines, who had lost earlier in the season to the Texas Longhorns, needed a big win to remain in the Associated Press Top 25. They got it in a close, blowout 27-24 victory over the Trojans. As it did a year ago, Michigan relied on its running game. Quarterback Alex Orji attempted just 12 passes for 32 yards, the fewest passing yards the Wolverines have had in a game since 1987. But the Wolverines piled up 290 yards on the ground and had scoring runs of 53 and 41 yards, and another long run to set up the winning touchdown.
The Vols came into the game as one of the most explosive teams in the country, averaging over 63 points. They failed to match those numbers against OU, winning 25-15. It was Tennessee's defense that really shined in Norman. Tennessee's defense held Oklahoma to 222 total yards and forced three turnovers. Tennessee held OU to 36 rushing yards, its lowest total since 2012.
Elsewhere, the Missouri Tigers (No. 7) survived an overtime scare against the Vanderbilt Commodores, and Texas (No. 1), the Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 3) and the Ole Miss Rebels (No. 5) all comfortably cruised past overmatched opponents.
Here are our experts' top 12 picks for the College Football Playoff (Power 4 conference champions receive the top four seeds):
Andrea Adelson: 1. Tennessee. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Texas. 6. Alabama. 7. Georgia. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Oregon. 10. Penn State. 11. Clemson. 12. Boise State.
Bill Connelly: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Tennessee. 6. Georgia. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Penn State. 10.Louisville. 11. Indiana. 12. UNLV.
David Hale: 1. Georgia. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Tennessee. 6.Texas. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Clemson. 10. Oregon. 11. Penn State. 12. UNLV.
Eli Lederman: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Georgia. 6. Oregon. 7. Ole Miss. 8. Alabama. 9. Tennessee. 10. Penn State. 11. Clemson. 12. Boise State.
Chris Bass: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Georgia. 6. Tennessee. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Penn State. 10. Oregon. 11. Clemson. 12. UNLV.
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Tennessee. 6. Georgia. 7. Alabama. 8. Penn State. 9. Ole Miss. 10.Louisville. 11. Indiana. 12. UNLV.
Max Olson: 1. Georgia. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Texas. 6. Alabama. 7. Tennessee. 8. Oregon. 9. Penn State. 10. Ole Miss. 11. Clemson. 12. Boise State.
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Utah 5. Georgia. 6. Tennessee. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Penn State. 10. Oregon. 11. Clemson. 12. UNLV.
Jake Trotter: 1. Georgia. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Texas. 6. Tennessee. 7. Alabama. 8. Oregon. 9. Penn State. 10. Ole Miss. 11.Louisville. 12. Boise State.
Pablo Uggetti: 1. Ohio State. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Tennessee. 6. Texas. 7. Oregon. 8. Alabama. 9. Ole Miss. 10. Penn State. 11. Clemson. 12. Boise State.
David Wilson: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Georgia. 6. Tennessee. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Penn State. 10. Oregon. 11. Clemson. 12. UNLV.
