The biggest and most anticipated game of the season so far took a while, but No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama ultimately lived up to and then exceeded the hype. The Crimson Tide’s win is Saturday’s clear headliner, but as always, there was plenty of drama elsewhere. It started with a controversial overturned Hail Mary in Miami’s win against Virginia Tech on Friday night and continued until a loss to No. 10 Utah, which snuck into most of the United States on Sunday morning.

The 12-team College Football Playoff race continues to hover over everything as an SEC giant stumbled, top-10 teams tumbled and UNLV put an exclamation point on the end of a weird, wild week.

Here are five CFP-related lessons from week 5:

1. Alabama wins an instant classic

It’s not often that a team can claim a comeback victory after leading 28-0. Add it to the long list of memorable moments from Alabama’s 41-34 win, a game that featured 1,066 yards of total offense, a pair of Heisman candidate quarterbacks and 177 yards on six catches for Alabama freshman phenom Ryan Williams, who, you might have heard, is only 17 years old.

The Crimson Tide put to rest questions about how they would perform without legendary coach Nick Saban on the sidelines as they sprinted ahead with four consecutive touchdowns, but things went off the rails in the second half as Georgia stormed back. In the end, it was a nail-biting win for Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer in his first SEC game, a heartbreaking loss for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs, and a result that reiterated that these are two of the best teams in the sport.

Alabama and Georgia both belong at that top level, along with Texas and Ohio State (until the Buckeyes play an opponent good enough to indicate otherwise). That doesn’t mean things will stay that way, especially in the SEC battle, where the two teams that reach the conference title game will have earned it. The Tide still has Missouri and road trips to Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma scheduled, while Georgia has trips to Texas and Ole Miss and gets Tennessee at home. There is a good chance that neither will play in the Championship.

For now, though, Alabama looks like the best team in the country and could be ranked as such on Sunday, supplanting Texas for the No. 1 spot. The Bulldogs shouldn’t drop too far either.

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2. Notre Dame is a timely reminder that it’s a long season

We all poured cold water on the Irish after their Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois, and rightly so. But they have bounced back for three straight wins, including Saturday’s 31-24 upset of No. 15 Louisville, on top of the Week 1 victory over Texas A&M.

It’s a similar story for Clemson, which was steamrolled by Georgia in the opener and has since recorded three straight blowouts. Both teams still have work to do to feel good about their Playoff spots, and Notre Dame’s path will have to be as an at-large. But their misguided early dismissal is important to remember when considering Ole Miss, who looked like a paper tiger in Saturday’s 20-17 home loss to Kentucky. Same for Utah, which fell 23-10 to Arizona with backup Isaac Wilson starting again at quarterback. Or LSU, which flopped against USC in Week 1 but hasn’t lost since.

It’s easy to be a prisoner of the moment, especially in a sport where a bad or unexpected loss at this point in the season has historically dashed Playoff hopes. Those days are over. Notre Dame still has to play USC to finish the regular season, and a loss to someone else on the road could keep it on the outside looking in, but it’s by no means offside: Our projections gave the Irish a 37 percent . chance to take the field before beating Louisville.

As bad as Ole Miss feels today after its loss to Kentucky, a lot can change in a few weeks.

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3. The chaos of the Big 12 is real and spectacular

Add Kansas State back to that ever-shrinking scale of Playoff hopefuls. The Wildcats followed last week’s humiliating 38-9 loss to BYU with a 42-20 loss to Oklahoma State. Quarterback Avery Johnson had the most complete game of his young career, throwing for 259 yards and five total touchdowns. It was a perfect representation of a Big 12 that has already wreaked havoc in the conference standings.

K-State’s rebound win keeps it in the mix and marks an 0-2 start to regular season play for Oklahoma State, which played for a Big 12 championship last season and was expected to contend for it again. Elsewhere, Utah got an L as the curious case of Cam Rising’s absence drags on. That means the top four teams in the conference’s preseason poll have already suffered a league loss. That includes a Kansas team that is 0-2 overall and 1-4 after a loss to TCU, but excludes BYU, which defeated Baylor to improve to 5-0. Iowa State started 4-0 for the first time since 2000.

It’s anarchy, and while that may not help the Big 12 secure multiple spots in the 12-team field this December, it’s just as fun as advertised.

The next step for Kansas State, by the way? An inactive week followed by a trip to Colorado to take on the 4-1 Buffs (2-0 Big 12) and Travis Hunter’s wavy Heisman campaign.

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4. The Group of 5 race is a big tent

Navy! James Madison! Sam Houston is standing! UNLV! Anyone who argued against the G5’s entry into the Playoff should be forced to apologize and make amends.

The ultimate outcome – getting smoked as a No. 12 pick in the first round by the second-best SEC team – may be inevitable. But what’s not to like about all these programs that have a shot at making it? Forget the state of Iowa and the year 2000; Army and Navy are both 4-0 for the first time since 1945, while the Midshipmen continued to win the battle in an easy victory against UAB. JMU followed its 70-point outburst against North Carolina with a 63-7 win over Ball State. Sam Houston State, a double-digit underdog, upset Texas State to improve to 4-1. In the mix, everyone.

And then there are the UNLV rebels, who lived a lifetime this week. Their starting quarterback Matthew Sluka sparked an NIL-related firestorm, the school opted to spurn the Pac-12 and stay in the Mountain West, and then the team went out and defeated Fresno State by a score of 59-14 . So much for distraction.

The Rebels have a good chance to be ranked in the AP Top 25 next Sunday, along with fellow Mountain West foe (for now) Boise State, who unleashed Washington State’s Ashton Jeanty rushing for 259 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries. Even with their last-second loss to Oregon, the Broncos are likely in the driver’s seat, with the caveat that a team must win the conference championship to earn the G5 spot. But don’t forget Tulane, which has suffered two power conference losses but crushed South Florida on Saturday, or Liberty 4-0, whose game against Appalachian State was canceled because of Hurricane Helene.

5. Deciding on the big bids will be fascinating

Don’t lose sight of the overall battle, which will become increasingly fierce as we get deeper into the competition. Seven at-large bids go to the highest-ranked teams that do not win a conference championship. How much does the SEC get? At least three, including the automatic berth, but probably four? Maybe five? Who from Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, LSU and Ole Miss are left out?

Can Rutgers and/or Indiana, both still undefeated, actually make some noise in the Big Ten alongside Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan and USC? Washington State’s long-awaited hopes are likely dashed after the loss to Boise State, but Notre Dame continues to persevere. Can anyone trip up Cam Ward and Miami in the ACC?

Some good teams will ultimately stay out of the Playoff. The big difference this season is that so many teams still have a chance at the moment.

Except the state of Florida. That ship has sunk.

(Photo: Chris Gardner/Getty Images)