Michigan’s impressive win over Michigan State highlighted the early slate, while playoff favorites Alabama and Clemson dominated in the next set of games. Here’s what we learned from those teams, plus every other Top 25 team in action today.
Check back throughout the day as action goes final.
No. 1 Alabama 58, Tennessee 21
Any concerns by Alabama fans that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa might still be a little gimpy on his strained right knee were put to rest pretty quickly in the Crimson Tide’s 58-21 rout of Tennessee on Saturday. He was as sharp as ever with four touchdown passes, although he did take a big hit on his fourth scoring pass of the day early in the third quarter before giving way to Jalen Hurts. Tagovailoa jogged gingerly off the field and watched from the sideline while standing the rest of the game. Tagovailoa and Alabama now get a week off before traveling to LSU on Nov. 3 for what should be the Tide’s stiffest test of the season. Nobody has come close to slowing down Alabama all season, and the Tide should be even healthier against LSU, with receiver DeVonta Smith expected to return after missing the Tennessee game due to a hamstring injury. — Chris Low
No. 3 Clemson 41, No. 16 NC State 7
NC State nearly upset the Tigers in each of the past two seasons, and both teams entered this game undefeated with Atlantic Division hopes on the line. But there was never any doubt just how far the gap between the two schools remains. Clemson came out with a point to prove from the very start, marching down the field on its opening drive, while the defense set the tone as the aggressor. The Tigers never let NC State into the game, as Trevor Lawrence took center stage, getting the downfield passing game going the way many wanted to see. Travis Etienne added three more touchdown runs, and Clemson limited future NFL draft pick Ryan Finley to zero big plays. Clemson is in control of the Atlantic Division, and with a schedule that features zero ranked teams remaining, the Tigers will remain heavy favorites to make it back to the College Football Playoff. — Andrea Adelson
The Wolfpack started the season 5-0 but had not played any elite opponents until Saturday. Although they challenged Clemson the past two seasons, NC State proved to be no match for the Tigers on Saturday. The Wolfpack were completely overwhelmed on the offensive and defensive lines, and they were unable to get Ryan Finley and their passing game going against a secondary that had given up big plays this season. The best third-down conversion team in the nation, NC State had trouble converting on third down, as well. But that was basically the story of the game: Everything that seemed to come so easily in its 5-0 start was made much more difficult against a top-3 team in the nation. The Wolfpack are likely to drop out of the Top 25, but they still have a chance to finish the season strong. — Adelson
No. 6 Michigan 21, No. 24 Michigan State 7
Two down, one to go in a crucial stretch for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines. Michigan ran over Wisconsin a week ago and survived what at points looked like a perfect storm of rivalry-game anarchy in East Lansing this week. Shea Patterson made a handful of plays that this offense wasn’t equipped to make in past years to flip momentum in Michigan’s direction in the second half. Defense is still the cornerstone in Ann Arbor, but if this team gets past Penn State after a bye, they look well-rounded enough to compete for a Big Ten championship. — Dan Murphy
The Spartans’ struggles on offense aren’t going away, and the issues are probably serious enough that they aren’t likely to spend much more time in the Top 25 this year. Brian Lewerke completed less than 50 percent of his passes for the second straight week. The team’s only touchdown came on a trick play that ended a 7-yard scoring drive set up by the defense. As suffocating as the Michigan State defense may be, there are too many injuries and too many inefficiencies on offense for this team this year. — Murphy
No. 9 Oklahoma 52, TCU 27
Oklahoma avoided any Texas hangover, pulling away from TCU with a monster second half on both sides of the ball. In the first game since OU fired defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, the defense rebounded from a shaky second quarter to produce a series of stops to finish off the Horned Frogs. Offensively, QB Kyler Murray delivered yet another Heisman statement with four TDs. And in his first real opportunity, freshman Kennedy Brooks also seemed to fill OU’s void at running back with Rodney Anderson out for the year, rushing for a career-high 168 yards. With the Texas loss, the Sooners have no margin for error. But they showed Saturday that with Murray, they remain a Big 12 title — and playoff — threat. — Jake Trotter
No. 15 Washington 27, Colorado 13
With Myles Gaskin out because of a shoulder injury that he suffered in the loss to Oregon, Washington turned to a balanced offense and a stingy second-half defense to stifle any comeback from Colorado. It was hardly a dominant performance for the two-loss Huskies, who had to overcome two turnovers and clung to a precarious 14-13 halftime lead. Jake Browning‘s 26-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Aaron Fuller gave Washington its biggest cushion of the game, while the defense held Colorado scoreless in the second half. With Gaskin out, Salvon Ahmed averaged 10.1 yards per carry (71 yards on seven carries) and scored one touchdown. With Colorado’s loss, the winner of the Pac-12 South is now guaranteed to have at least two losses, and any outside chance the Buffaloes had of sneaking into the playoff race has been erased. — Heather Dinich
No. 18 Penn State 33, Indiana 28
It took Penn State until the final seconds to put this one away, after Indiana scored late and then recovered an onside kick in a game that went back and forth. The Nittany Lions gave up more than 500 yards of offense to Indiana on defense, and they also had struggles catching the ball on offense. Penn State had five drops on the day from its receivers, with one coming in the end zone. The woes for Penn State are coming at a bad time, as the next three games are against Iowa, at Michigan and versus Wisconsin at home. That will be a tough stretch to get through if some of the issues don’t get fixed. — Tom VanHaaren
No. 19 Iowa 23, Maryland 0
After two weeks of using the pass en route to 40-plus points per game, Iowa celebrated homecoming by returning to its football roots in a 23-0 win over Maryland, with 224 yards rushing against just 86 in a very windy air. The defense pitched only its second shutout since 2010 and held the Terps to 115 yards total offense, the fewest Iowa has ever allowed to a Big Ten opponent. If the Hawkeyes are going to win at Penn State next week and grind out another of their every-few-years deep runs, they will need more of the defense that showed up Saturday, plus a rediscovery of that ambitious offense from earlier in the month. “Balance will be the focus of this week. And if these guys focus this upcoming week like they did to get ready for Maryland then there’s nothing they can’t figure out,” coach Kirk Ferentz said. — Ryan McGee
Temple 24, No. 20 Cincinnati 17 (OT)
Cincinnati was unable to keep its undefeated season intact, losing to Temple 24-17 in overtime. It looked as though there would be a chance the Bearcats would have their third win after overcoming a double-digit deficit, going down 10 early in the first quarter, but a late touchdown in the fourth quarter by Temple forced overtime and an eventual touchdown by the Owls in overtime produced Cincinnati’s first loss of the season. It’s only one loss, but Cincinnati still has to play USF and UCF to close out the season. Coming into those two games undefeated would have provided some hope to keep this stellar season alive. — Tom VanHaaren
No. 23 Wisconsin 49, Illinois 20
It was a mistake-laden game for Illinois, and Wisconsin took advantage to bounce back from its loss to Michigan and stay alive in the Big Ten West division race. The Illini had five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles), and couldn’t contain Heisman hopeful running back Jonathan Taylor. The Badgers controlled the clock, as Taylor had his seventh straight 100-yard rushing performance, and he has already amassed his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season. It was also the third time this season he surpassed the 150-yard mark (159 yards on 27 carries). There was a flash snowstorm that briefly covered the field in the first half, but two touchdown passes from Alex Hornibrook helped the Badgers to an early 28-10 lead. — Heather Dinich