Each Sunday during the season, ESPN.com will highlight four storylines that had an impact on the College Football Playoff race.
No. 2 Florida State 31, No. 5 Notre Dame 27
The Seminoles strong-armed the Fighting Irish, wrestling back from a 17-10 halftime deficit to win their 23rd consecutive game and overcome perhaps their toughest remaining test. FSU has five unranked opponents left, beginning with a road trip to Louisville on Oct. 30, followed by Virginia.
Big 12 balance of power shifting
No. 4 Baylor's playoff hopes took a massive hit in a 41-27 loss to unranked West Virginia. No. 14 Kansas State is rising by virtue of a 31-30 win over No. 11 Oklahoma, which suffered its second loss. Meanwhile, No. 12 TCU rebounded strongly after a wrenching loss to Baylor by pummelling No. 15 Oklahoma State 42-9.
No. 7 Alabama 59, No. 21 Texas A&M 0
The Crimson Tide stomped the Aggies, notching their most lopsided SEC victory since beating Vanderbilt 66-3 in 1979 and blanking Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin for the first time in his 86 games as a head coach.
Spartans, Buckeyes, keeping above the fray
No. 8 Michigan State and No. 13 Ohio State continue to quietly ease back into the playoff picture as teams beat each other up in the Big Ten and other national contenders stumble. Both teams posted 56-17 victories on Saturday, the Spartans over Indiana and the Buckeyes over Rutgers.