In Week 4 of the college football season, the matchups provided the first big glimpse of the premier teams in their new conferences. The USC Trojans began Big Ten play on the road against the Michigan Wolverines, and the Oklahoma Sooners began their inaugural season in the SEC with a visit from the Tennessee Volunteers. Those teams figured to factor into the College Football Playoff race.
The Wolverines, having lost earlier in the season to the Texas Longhorns, needed a big win to stay in the Associated Press Top 25. They got just that in a tight, hard-hitting 27-24 win over the Trojans. As it did a year ago, Michigan relied on its rushing game. Quarterback Alex Orji attempted only 12 passes for 32 yards, the fewest passing yards the Wolverines have had in game since 1987. But the Wolverines piled up 290 yards on the ground and had scoring runs of 53 and 41 yards, and another long run to set up the winning touchdown.
The Vols came into the game as one of the most explosive teams in the country, averaging more than 63 points. They didn’t quite pile up those numbers against OU, winning 25-15. It was Tennessee’s defense that really shined in Norman. Tennessee’s defense held Oklahoma to 222 total yards and forced three turnovers. Tennessee held OU to 36 yards rushing, its lowest total since 2012.
Elsewhere, the No. 7 Missouri Tigers survived an overtime scare from the Vanderbilt Commodores, and No. 1 Texas, the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 5 Ole Miss Rebels all cruised against overmatched opponents.
Here are our experts’ top 12 College Football Playoff picks (Power 4 conference champions receive the top four seeds):
Andrea Adelson: 1. Tennessee. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Texas. 6. Alabama. 7. Georgia. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Oregon. 10. Penn State. 11. Clemson. 12. Boise State.
Bill Connelly: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Tennessee. 6. Georgia. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Penn State. 10. Louisville. 11. Indiana. 12. UNLV.
David Hale: 1. Georgia. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Tennessee. 6. Texas. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Clemson. 10. Oregon. 11. Penn State. 12. UNLV.
Eli Lederman: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Georgia. 6. Oregon. 7. Ole Miss. 8. Alabama. 9. Tennessee. 10. Penn State. 11. Clemson. 12. Boise State.
Chris Low: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Georgia. 6. Tennessee. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Penn State. 10. Oregon. 11. Clemson. 12. UNLV.
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Tennessee. 6. Georgia. 7. Alabama. 8. Penn State. 9. Ole Miss. 10. Louisville. 11. Indiana. 12. UNLV.
Max Olson: 1. Georgia. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Iowa State. 5. Texas. 6. Alabama. 7. Tennessee. 8. Oregon. 9. Penn State. 10. Ole Miss. 11. Clemson. 12. Boise State.
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Utah 5. Georgia. 6. Tennessee. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Penn State. 10. Oregon. 11. Clemson. 12. UNLV.
Jake Trotter: 1. Georgia. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Texas. 6. Tennessee. 7. Alabama. 8. Oregon. 9. Penn State. 10. Ole Miss. 11. Louisville. 12. Boise State.
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Ohio State. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Tennessee. 6. Texas. 7. Oregon. 8. Alabama. 9. Ole Miss. 10. Penn State. 11. Clemson. 12. Boise State.
Dave Wilson: 1. Texas. 2. Ohio State. 3. Miami. 4. Utah. 5. Georgia. 6. Tennessee. 7. Alabama. 8. Ole Miss. 9. Penn State. 10. Oregon. 11. Clemson. 12. UNLV.
