Week 5 of the college football season featured one of the biggest matchups of the regular season with the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs visiting the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide. In a matchup that featured teams that have won a combined five national titles in the past 10 years, this one had plenty of stakes for the 2024 College Football Playoff.
The first half seemed as if it would be an Alabama rout. Then Georgia overcame a 30-7 deficit to take a late fourth-quarter lead. The two heavyweights traded big plays and long touchdowns before freshman cornerback Zabien Brown picked off Carson Beck in the end zone to seal the victory for Alabama. It was Beck’s third pick of the game. On the other side, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe accounted for 491 total yards and four touchdowns. The loss ended Georgia’s 42-game regular-season winning streak.
It wasn’t the only game featuring ranked teams. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish gave the Louisville Cardinals their first loss of the season, and the Kansas State Wildcats routed the Oklahoma State Cowboys in a game involving Big 12 contenders. In the Big Ten, the Penn State Nittany Lions held off the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Two top-10 teams in the Associated Press Top 25 poll faced tough games against unranked conference opponents. The Miami Hurricanes rallied in the fourth quarter and survived a Hail Mary to beat the Virginia Tech Hokies on Friday night. Then the Ole Miss Rebels lost to the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday. The Rebels were a favorite for at least an at-large playoff bid but now have a small margin for error to get into the field.
Here are our experts’ top 12 College Football Playoff picks (Power 4 conference champions receive the top four seeds):
Andrea Adelson: 1. Tennessee. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Texas. 6. Alabama. 7. Oregon. 8. Penn State. 9. Missouri. 10. Georgia. 11. Clemson. 12. UNLV.
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. BYU 5. Alabama. 6. Tennessee. 7. Oregon. 8. Georgia. 9. Penn State. 10. Michigan. 11. Clemson. 12. James Madison.
Bill Connelly: 1. Alabama. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Texas. 6. Tennessee. 7. Penn State. 8. Oregon. 9. Georgia. 10. Missouri. 11. Indiana. 12. UNLV.
David Hale: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Alabama. 6. Tennessee. 7. Clemson. 8. Penn State. 9. Georgia. 10. Oregon. 11. Notre Dame. 12. UNLV.
Eli Lederman: 1. Alabama. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Texas. 6. Georgia. 7. Oregon. 8. Tennessee. 9. Penn State. 10. Missouri. 11. Notre Dame. 12. Boise State.
Chris Low: 1. Alabama. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Kansas State. 5. Texas. 6. Tennessee. 7. Georgia. 8. Oregon. 9. Penn State. 10. Clemson. 11. Missouri. 12. UNLV.
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Alabama. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Texas. 6. Tennessee. 7. Georgia. 8. Penn State. 9. Oregon. 10. Indiana. 11. Missouri. 12. UNLV.
Max Olson: 1. Alabama. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Texas. 6. Georgia. 7. Tennessee. 8. Penn State. 9. Oregon. 10. Clemson. 11. Ole Miss. 12. UNLV.
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Alabama. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Kansas State. 5. Texas. 6. Tennessee. 7. Georgia. 8. Oregon. 9. Penn State. 10. Clemson. 11. Missouri. 12. UNLV.
Mark Schlabach: 1. Alabama. 2. Ohio State. 3. Kansas State. 4. Miami. 5. Texas. 6. Tennessee. 7. Georgia. 8. Oregon. 9. Penn State. 10. Clemson. 11. Missouri. 12. UNLV.
Jake Trotter: 1. Alabama. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Georgia. 6. Tennessee. 7. Texas. 8. Penn State. 9. Oregon. 10. Michigan. 11. Clemson. 12. UNLV.
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Alabama. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Texas. 6. Georgia. 7. Oregon. 8. Tennessee. 9. Penn State. 10. Clemson. 11. Utah. 12. Boise State.
Dave Wilson: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Alabama. 6. Tennessee. 7. Clemson. 8. Penn State. 9. Georgia. 10. Oregon. 11. Notre Dame. 12. UNLV.