Each Sunday during the season, ESPN.com will highlight four storylines that had an impact on the College Football Playoff race.
No. 1 Florida State 56, NC State 41
Florida State survived a furious upset bid by NC State, as Jameis Winston threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns to help FSU rally from 17 points down.
No. 6 Texas A&M 35, Arkansas 28 (OT)
Kenny Hill rallied Texas A&M past the surging Razorbacks, throwing three touchdown passes during the fourth quarter and overtime before the Aggies made a game-ending defensive stop.
No. 11 UCLA 62, No. 15 Arizona State 27
Brett Hundley threw for 355 yards on Thursday night as UCLA had 582 yards of total offense and scored the most points in the 55-year history of Sun Devil Stadium.
Top-five teams watching, waiting
Three top-ranked teams were idle before big matchups, beginning with Thursday's showdown between No. 2 Oregon and 4-0 Arizona. On Saturday, No. 3 Alabama travels to Oxford to play No. 10 Ole Miss, while No. 4 Oklahoma visits 3-0 TCU.