What we learned about the College Football Playoff in Week 5: Buckle up, Big 12

The biggest and most anticipated game of the season so far took a while, but No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama finally lived up to the hype — and then exceeded it. The Crimson Tide's gritty win is Saturday's clear headliner, but as always, there was plenty of drama elsewhere. It started with a controversial Hail Mary in Miami's win over Virginia Tech on Friday night and continued through a loss to No. 10 Utah that stretched into Sunday morning for most of the United States.

The race for the 12-team College Football Playoff continues to loom large as an SEC juggernaut stumbled, top-10 teams tumbled and UNLV put an exclamation point at the end of a strange, 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 pull off a comeback victory after taking a 28-0 lead. Add it to the long list of memorable moments you may have from Alabama's 41-34 win, a game that featured 1,066 total yards of offense, two Heisman-candidate quarterbacks and 177 yards on six catches for Alabama freshman Ryan Williams heard, is only 17 years old.

The Crimson Tide silenced questions about how they would perform without legendary coach Nick Saban on the sideline as they sprinted ahead with four consecutive touchdown drives, but things unraveled in the second half as Georgia stormed back . In the end, it was a stunning win for Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer in his first SEC game, a heartbreaking loss for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs and a result that reinforced that these are two of the best teams in the game.

Alabama and Georgia are among the top tier, along with Texas and Ohio State (until the Buckeyes play an opponent good enough to prove otherwise). That doesn't mean things will stay that way, especially in the SEC matchup, where the two teams that reach the conference title game deserve it. The Tide still have Missouri and road trips to Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma on the schedule, while Georgia has trips to Texas and Ole Miss and has Tennessee at home. There's a good chance neither will play in the Championship.

Right now, however, Alabama appears to be the best team in the country and could be classified as such on Sunday, knocking Texas out of first place. The Bulldogs shouldn't fall too far behind either.

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2. Notre Dame is a timely reminder that the season is long

We all threw cold water on the Irish after their loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2, and rightfully so. But they bounced back and rattled off three straight wins, including a 31-24 win over No. 15 Louisville on Saturday, in addition to their Week 1 win at Texas A&M.

It's a similar story with Clemson, which was crushed by Georgia in its opening game and has posted three straight blowouts since. Both teams still have a lot of work to do to feel comfortable with their playoff spot, and Notre Dame's journey must be as a whole team. But their misguided early release is important when considering Ole Miss, which looked like a paper tiger in Saturday's 20-17 home loss to Kentucky. The same goes for Utah, which lost 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 ended playoff hopes. Those times are over. Notre Dame still has to play at USC to finish the regular season, and a loss to anyone along the way could see it left out, but it's by no means out of the game: Our predictions had one for the Irish Odds of 37 percent chance of reaching the field before defeating Louisville.

As bad as Ole Miss feels today, 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-growing number of playoff contenders. The Wildcats followed the humiliating 38-9 loss to BYU last week with a 42-20 win over Oklahoma State. Quarterback Avery Johnson had the most complete game of his young career, throwing for more than 250 yards and accounting for five total touchdowns. It perfectly summed up the Big 12, which has already wreaked havoc in the conference standings.

K-State's encouraging win stays in the game and marks an 0-2 start to the league for Oklahoma State, which played for the Big 12 championship last season and is expected to contend for it again. Elsewhere, Utah received an L as Cam Rising's strange 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 and 1-4 overall after a loss to TCU, but not BYU, which beat Baylor and improved to 5-0. Iowa State started 4-0 for the first time since 2000.

It's anarchy, and while that might not help the Big 12 clinch multiple spots in the 12-team field come December, it's as much fun as advertised.

By the way, next is Kansas State? A week off, followed by a trip to Colorado to face the 4-1 Buffs (2-0 Big 12) and Travis Hunter's surging Heisman campaign.

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4. The Group 5 race is a big tent

Marine! James Madison! Sam Houston State! UNLV! Anyone who spoke out against the G5's access to the playoffs should be forced to apologize and make amends.

The eventual outcome — being smoked as a No. 12 seed in the first round by the second-best SEC team — may be inevitable. But what's not to love about all of these programs that have the potential to make it? Forget Iowa State and 2000; Army and Navy are both 4-0 for the first time since 1945, while the Midshipmen stayed ahead with an easy win over 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, defeated Texas State to improve to 4-1. All in the mix.

And then there are the UNLV Rebels who lived life this week. Their starting quarterback Matthew Sluka created a Nile-like firestorm, the school decided 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 distractions.

The Rebels are expected to be in the AP top 25 next Sunday, along with (for now) their Mountain West counterpart, Boise State, which unleashed Ashton Jeanty on Washington State with 259 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries. Even after their last-second loss to Oregon, the Broncos are likely ahead, with the caveat that a team must win its conference championship to clinch the G5 spot. But don't forget Tulane, which suffered two power conference losses but beat South Florida on Saturday, or 4-0 Liberty, whose game against Appalachian State was canceled because of Hurricane Helene.

5. It will be fascinating to decide the overall bids

Don't lose track of the general tussle that will continue to intensify as we get deeper into the league. Seven overall bids go to the top-ranked teams that do not win a conference championship. How many will the SEC get? At least three, including the automatic bunk, but probably four? Maybe five? Who from Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, LSU and Ole Miss will be eliminated?

Can Rutgers and/or Indiana, both undefeated, actually make some noise in the Big Ten alongside Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan and USC? Washington State's long-term hopes are likely dashed after the loss to Boise State, but Notre Dame remains. Can anyone in the ACC stumble over Cam Ward and Miami?

Some good teams end up being eliminated from the playoffs. The big difference this season is that so many teams still have a chance right now.

Except Florida State. The ship sank.

(Photo: Chris Gardner/Getty Images)