There was one huge game in the spotlight in Week 3, but there were other College Football Playoff contenders who also faced stiff challenges.
Alabama and USC got tough tests from underdog opponents in Florida State and Rutgers, respectively. Both the Tide and Trojans had big second halves to stay undefeated.
In College Station, however, Texas A&M fell from the ranks of the unbeaten as Kentucky first-year coach Will Stein earned a signature win to start his tenure with the Wildcats. Kentucky QB Kenny Minchey threw for 252 yards and two scores while the UK defense picked off A&M QB Marcel Reed twice in a 31-21 victory on Saturday.
The top six teams in the AP Top 25 -- Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, Miami and Ohio State -- won by a combined margin of 232-56.
Here are our experts' top 12 College Football Playoff picks:
Andrea Adelson: 1. Texas 2. Ole Miss 3. Notre Dame 4. Georgia 5. Miami 6. Indiana 7. Ohio State 8. LSU 9. Alabama 10. BYU 11. Florida 12. Boise State
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Notre Dame 2. Indiana 3. Texas 4. Georgia 5. Ohio State 6. Miami 7. Ole Miss 8. Alabama 9. BYU 10. Penn State 11. LSU 12. Boise State
Bill Connelly: 1. Ole Miss 2. Texas 3. Notre Dame 4. Miami 5. Georgia 6. Alabama 7. Indiana 8. Florida 9. Utah 10. Mississippi State 11. Northwestern 12. North Dakota State
David Hale: 1. Ole Miss 2. Notre Dame 3. Miami 4. Texas 5. Georgia 6. Indiana 7. Ohio State 8. LSU 9. BYU 10. Louisville 11. Alabama 12. Boise State
Eli Lederman: 1. Texas 2. Notre Dame 3. Miami 4. Ohio State 5. Ole Miss 6. Indiana 7. Georgia 8. BYU 9. Oregon 10. Alabama 11. Louisville 12. Boise State
Max Olson: 1. Texas 2. Miami 3. Notre Dame 4. Ohio State 5. Georgia 6. Ole Miss 7. Indiana 8. BYU 9. Alabama 10. Penn State 11. LSU 12. North Dakota State
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Texas 2. Ole Miss 3. Notre Dame 4. Georgia 5. Miami 6. Indiana 7. Ohio State 8. BYU 9. Alabama 10. LSU 11. Penn State 12. North Dakota State
Alex Scarborough: 1. Notre Dame 2. Texas 3. Ole Miss 4. Indiana 5. Georgia 6. Miami 7. Ohio State 8. BYU 9. Alabama 10. LSU 11. USC 12. Boise State
Mark Schlabach: 1. Texas 2. Ole Miss 3. Notre Dame 4. Georgia 5. Indiana 6. Miami 7. Ohio State 8. BYU 9. Alabama 10. LSU 11. Penn State 12. North Dakota State
Jake Trotter: 1. Texas 2. Notre Dame 3. Ole Miss 4. Miami 5. Georgia 6. Indiana 7. Ohio State 8. BYU 9. Alabama 10. Mississippi State 11. LSU 12. Western Michigan
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Texas 2. Ole Miss 3. Notre Dame 4. Miami 5. Georgia 6. Indiana 7. Ohio State 8. BYU 9. Alabama 10. Mississippi State 11. USC 12. North Dakota State
Dave Wilson: 1. Texas 2. Miami 3. Notre Dame 4. Ohio State 5. Ole Miss 6. Georgia 7. Indiana 8. BYU 9. Alabama 10. Penn State 11. LSU 12. Boise State