Could Week 3 of the college football season match the drama of Week 2? Not exactly. At least, not for the top contenders for the College Football Playoff.
The Alabama Crimson Tide started the day with a rare trip to Big Ten country. In just its third trip for a Big Ten road game, the Tide crushed the Wisconsin Badgers. Jalen Milroe accounted for five scores (three passing, two rushing) and became the first player with multiple passing scores and rushing scores in each of his team’s first three games since Colin Kaepernick did it with Nevada in 2010. The Tide will host the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs in two weeks in what could be the game of the early season. Those Bulldogs got off to a slow start against the host Kentucky Wildcats and didn’t lead until early in the fourth quarter. The Dawgs had to grind out a tough 13-12 win in Lexington.
Elsewhere in the top 10 of the AP poll, the Miami Hurricanes and Tennessee Volunteers continued their torrid scoring pace, albeit against vastly inferior teams. The Canes beat the Ball State Cardinals 62-0 thanks to five touchdowns from QB Cam Ward and 750 yards of total offense. With a trip to Norman next to face the Oklahoma Sooners, the Vols got another tune-up, routing Kent State 71-0. The Sooners beat the Tulane Green Wave 34-19 on Saturday.
After tighter-than-expected performances in recent weeks, the Oregon Ducks got things going in the second half against the rival Oregon State Beavers. In a 49-14 win, quarterback Dillon Gabriel completed his first 15 passes and had over 300 yards of offense to go along with three touchdowns.
Here are our experts’ top 12 College Football Playoff picks (Power 4 conference champions get the top four seeds):
Andrea Adelson: 1. Texas. 2. Miami. 3. Ohio State. 4. Kansas State. 5. Tennessee. 6. Alabama. 7. Georgia. 8. USC. 9. Ole Miss. 10. Penn State. 11. Oregon. 12. Memphis.
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Georgia. 6. Alabama. 7. Tennessee. 8. USC. 9. Ole Miss. 10. Oregon. 11. Kansas State. 12. Memphis.
Bill Connelly: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Oklahoma State. 5. Tennessee. 6. Georgia. 7. Alabama. 8. Penn State. 9. Ole Miss. 10. Missouri. 11. Indiana. 12. Memphis.
David Hale: 1. Georgia. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Texas. 6. Tennessee. 7. Alabama. 8. Oregon. 9. Penn State. 10. Mississippi. 11. Clemson. 12. Memphis.
Eli Lederman: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Georgia. 6. Oregon. 7. Alabama. 8. Tennessee. 9. Ole Miss. 10. Penn State. 11. Missouri. 12. Boise State.
Chris Low: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Kansas State. 5. Tennessee. 6. Alabama. 7. Georgia. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Penn State. 10. USC. 11. Oregon. 12. UNLV.
Max Olson: 1. Georgia. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Kansas State. 5. Texas. 6. Alabama. 7. Ole Miss. 8. Oregon. 9. Penn State. 10. Tennessee. 11. Iowa State. 12. Memphis.
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Tennessee. 6. Georgia. 7. Alabama. 8. USC. 9. Penn State. 10. Missouri. 11. Kansas State. 12. Memphis.
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Kansas State. 5. Alabama. 6. Georgia. 7. Tennessee. 8. Penn State. 9. USC. 10. Ole Miss. 11. Oregon. 12. Memphis.
Jake Trotter: 1. Georgia. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Kansas State. 5. Texas. 6. Alabama. 7. Tennessee. 8. Penn State. 9. Ole Miss. 10. Oregon. 11. USC. 12. Memphis.
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Kansas State. 5. Georgia. 6. Penn State. 7. Alabama. 8. USC. 9. Tennessee. 10. Oregon. 11. Ole Miss. 12. Memphis.
Dave Wilson: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Kansas State. 5. Georgia. 6. Alabama. 7. Tennessee. 8. Penn State. 9. USC. 10. Ole Miss. 11. Oregon. 12. Memphis.