The deeper we get into the college football season, the more the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together. Every Sunday, we'll pick out the three biggest takeaways from the previous day's action and look at how they could impact the rest of the year.
Mississippi State is not invincible
Whether or not you bought into the Mississippi State hype this season, there's certainly no denying they're one of the premier teams in college football today.
With an undefeated 9-0 record heading into Tuscaloosa on Saturday, there was a strange feeling in the air that the Bulldogs' game against Alabama could be the one that erased their perfect regular season run.
And so it was.
Led by the stellar play of quarterback Blake Sims, Alabama used its balanced attack to ensure their 19-3 lead at halftime wouldn't go to waste. The result was a close but definitive finish, as the Crimson Tide handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season in a 25-20 victory.
Listen hard enough and you're likely to find a million excuses for why Mississippi State couldn't beat Alabama, but that won't change what this game does for the college playoff picture moving forward.
Florida State dodges a bullet
Much like its undefeated counterpart, Mississippi State, Florida State trailed its entire game against Miami, to the joy of Seminole haters nationwide.
Quarterback Brad Kaaya showed great poise as Miami's young starter with 316 passing yards on 16 completions, good enough for two touchdown plays. A 26-23 lead with just over three minutes left looked quite promising for the Hurricanes - but just as everyone was ready to count the Seminoles out, they jumped right back in.
Running back Dalvin Cook was Florida State's knight in shining armor as he ran in a 26-yard touchdown to put his team ahead 30-26, a score that held for the remainder of the game.
After what was flagged as the Seminoles' toughest match of the year, the team will now close out the season with visits from Boston College and Florida. Having overcome some serious adversity against The U, Florida State looks ready to repeat as an undefeated squad.
J.T. Barrett is the future of Ohio State
The loss of starting quarterback Braxton Miller was one of the toughest pills to swallow for an Ohio State team competing for the No. 1 spot in the Big Ten.
Then came J.T. Barrett.
The relatively unknown freshman quarterback has excelled as the Buckeyes' starter and significantly softened the blow of Miller's absence.
He broke Ohio State's single-season touchdown record on Saturday with 38, surpassing his predecessor. Combine that performance with the fact he also broke the school's quarterback single-game rushing record and you have a irreplaceable force on the roster.
Sound familiar?
Barrett has taken Ohio State from one of the biggest question marks in the Big Ten to the division's top team in a matter of months. Granted, he didn't do it alone, but without his offensive contributions, the Buckeyes likely wouldn't even be in the playoff conversation.
With Miller set to return next season, Ohio State will be blessed with two elite-level quarterbacks who present unique challenges for opposing defenses.
Must be tough.