On paper, Week 9 didn't promise much drama. It featured only one matchup of top 15 teams -- the No. 8 LSU Tigers facing the No. 14 Texas A&M Aggies. But chaos has reigned through the first eight weeks of the season.
But on Saturday the high-stakes drama was reserved for the World Series.
The Oregon Ducks, No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, cruised. Two other top-five teams -- the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 5 Texas Longhorns -- got by tough tests but kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Thanks to a big day from running back Damien Martinez, the Miami Hurricanes -- the ACC's top playoff hope at this point -- rolled this week.
The season's two biggest surprise teams -- the BYU Cougars and Indiana Hoosiers -- remained undefeated. Both will have tough tests next week. The Cougars face their in-state rivals, the Utah Utes, and the Hoosiers travel to face the Michigan State Spartans.
Here are our experts' top 12 College Football Playoff picks:
Andrea Adelson: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Penn State. 6. Indiana. 7. Ohio State. 8. Texas. 9. Texas A&M. 10. Clemson. 11. Notre Dame. 12. Boise State.
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Indiana. 6. Penn State. 7. Ohio State. 8. Texas. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Texas A&M. 11. Iowa State. 12. Boise State.
Bill Connelly: 1. Oregon. 2. Miami. 3. Georgia. 4. BYU. 5. Penn State. 6. Indiana. 7. Texas. 8. Ohio State. 9. Clemson. 10. Iowa State. 11. Pittsburgh. 12. Army.
David Hale: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Texas. 6. Ohio State. 7. Penn State. 8. Tennessee. 9. Pittsburgh. 10. Texas A&M. 11. Notre Dame. 12. Boise State.
Eli Lederman: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Texas 6. Ohio State 7. Tennessee 8. Penn State. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Texas A&M. 11. Indiana. 12. Boise State.
Chris Low: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Penn State. 6. Texas. 7. Ohio State. 8. Tennessee. 9. Indiana. 10. Notre Dame. 11. Texas A&M. 12. Boise State.
Max Olson: 1. Georgia. 2. Oregon. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Texas. 6. Ohio State. 7. Penn State. 8. Clemson. 9. Tennessee. 10. Indiana. 11. Texas A&M. 12. Boise State.
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Penn State. 6. Texas. 7. Ohio State. 8. Indiana. 9. Tennessee. 10. Texas A&M. 11. Notre Dame. 12. Boise State.
Mark Schlabach: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Penn State. 6. Ohio State. 7. Texas. 8. Clemson. 9. Indiana. 10. Texas A&M. 11.Notre Dame. 12. Boise State.
Jake Trotter: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Penn State. 6. Ohio State. 7. Texas. 8. Tennessee. 9. Indiana. 10. Pittsburgh. 11. Notre Dame. 12. Boise State.
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Penn State. 7. Texas. 8. Indiana. 9. Clemson. 10. Texas A&M. 11. Notre Dame. 12. Boise State.
Dave Wilson: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Indiana. 6. Penn State. 7. Ohio State. 8. Texas. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Texas A&M. 11. Iowa State. 12. Boise State.