In consecutive weeks, the No. 1 Texas Longhorns were featured in one of the week's biggest matchups. Last week, they demolished their Red River rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners. In Week 8, the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs came to Austin.
The Bulldogs' defense was ready to play early, holding the Horns under 50 yards of offense in the first half while Texas' defense held its own, picking off Georgia QB Carson Beck three times. The Longhorns rallied in the second half before the Bulldogs pulled away behind three rushing scores from Trevor Etienne in a 30-15 win.
Elsewhere in the SEC, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers met in their annual rivalry. The Vols were shut out in the first half but got their running game going in the second half of a 24-17 win. Tennessee's defense also got after Alabama QB Jalen Milroe, pressuring him on 16 of his 50 dropbacks. Milroe completed only two passes against pressure and was sacked three times. With the win, Tennessee's chances of making the College Football Playoff rose to 63%, according to the Allstate Playoff Predictor.
The Miami Hurricanes, the ACC's top playoff contender, again survived a back-and-forth road game. In a 52-45 win over the Louisville Cardinals, Cam Ward had 319 passing yards and four touchdowns. He has passed for at least 300 yards in each of the Canes' first seven games this season. Miami improved to 7-0 for the first time since 2017, the last and only time the Canes made the ACC championship game.
Here are our experts' top 12 College Football Playoff picks:
Andrea Adelson: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Penn State. 6. Ohio State. 7. Texas. 8. Indiana. 9. Clemson. 10. Iowa State. 11. Tennessee.12. Boise State.
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. Boise State. 5. Penn State. 6. Ohio State. 7. Texas. 8. Indiana. 9. Clemson. 10. BYU. 11. Iowa State. 12. Notre Dame.
Bill Connelly: 1. Oregon. 2. Miami. 3. Georgia. 4. Iowa State. 5. Penn State. 6. Indiana. 7. Ohio State. 8. Texas. 9. Clemson. 10. BYU. 11. Pittsburgh. 12. Army.
David Hale: 1. Georgia. 2. Oregon. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Penn State. 7. Clemson. 8. LSU. 9. Indiana. 10. Tennessee. 11. Boise State. 12. Notre Dame.
Eli Lederman: 1. Georgia. 2. Oregon. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Texas. 6. Ohio State. 7. Tennessee. 8. LSU. 9. Clemson. 10. Notre Dame. 11. Alabama. 12. Boise State.
Chris Low: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Penn State. 7. Texas. 8. Tennessee. 9. Indiana. 10. Clemson. 11. Iowa State. 12. Army.
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Penn State. 6. Ohio State. 7. Texas. 8. Indiana. 9. Clemson. 10. BYU. 11. Pittsburgh. 12. Army.
Max Olson: 1. Georgia. 2. Oregon. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Ohio State. 6. Texas. 7. Penn State. 8. Clemson. 9. Tennessee. 10. Indiana. 11. BYU. 12. Boise State.
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Ohio State. 6. Texas. 7. Penn State. 8. Indiana. 9. Clemson. 10. BYU. 11. Tennessee. 12. Boise State.
Mark Schlabach: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Penn State. 7. Texas. 8. Tennessee. 9. Clemson. 10. Indiana. 11. Iowa State. 12. Boise State.
Jake Trotter: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Penn State. 7. Texas. 8. Tennessee. 9. Clemson. 10. Indiana. 11. Iowa State. 12. Boise State.
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. BYU. 4. Miami. 5. Ohio State. 6. Penn State. 7. Texas. 8. Clemson. 9. Tennessee. 10. Iowa State. 11. Indiana. 12. Boise State.
Dave Wilson: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Penn State. 7. Texas. 8. Tennessee. 9. Clemson. 10. Indiana. 11. Iowa State. 12. Boise State.