College Football Playoff Bracket Week 4 Live Projections: USC Falls Out Amid Plenty of Movement

Through Saturday’s games, Sports Illustrated projects the playoff seeding and matchups.

USC coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans fell out of the projected College Football Playoff bracket after losing to Oregon. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Update at 2:30 a.m. ET Sunday

There’s no such thing as a straightforward Saturday in college football, and Week 4 yet again proved that to be the case.

The No. 1 team in the country nearly got upset in stupefying fashion to begin the day, and it ended with serious questions surrounding USC plus a karmic Hail Mary completed against Michigan somewhere in between. 

As a result, the CFP bracket concluded the weekend far different from the way it began, with some teams moving around the seed lines and others exiting the playoff picture entirely. Given the chaos we’ve already seen in the sport, something says that kind of movement will be the norm as the path to Las Vegas twists and turns.

Update at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday

Conference play means the CFP bracket can undergo some significant changes from TV window to TV window and that was certainly the case after a wild 3:30 p.m. ET slate saw Michigan lose at the last second (for real), Florida notch a signature victory that vaults it into the field and a handful of other contenders take care of business in impressive fashion. It certainly feels like one of those Saturdays where the upheaval isn’t over yet so the prime-time games should make for some interesting viewing.  

Update at noon ET Saturday

The arrival of conference play for most teams across the country means the College Football Playoff chase is set to see plenty of upheaval as teams jockey for both league and CFP positioning. There are a number of massive games on tap that should decide who is in and who is out of the field, plus a slew of contests that may have a lasting impact for seeding programs for an all-important home game.

With that in mind, here’s how the bracket looks in Week 4. 

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Live Week 4 College Football Playoff Bracket

1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Miami
4. Notre Dame 
5. Ohio State
6. Florida
7. Indiana 
8. Mississippi
9. LSU
10. Alabama
11. BYU
12. Boise State

First Round

• No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State
• No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Florida
• No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Indiana
• No. 9 LSU at No. 8 Mississippi

Quarterfinals

• Rose Bowl: No. 4 Notre Dame vs. winner of No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Ohio State
• Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Miami vs. winner of No. 11 BYU vs. No. 6 Florida
• Peach Bowl: No. 2 Georgia vs. winner of No. 10 Alabama vs. No. 7 Indiana
• Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Texas vs. winner of No. 9 LSU vs. No. 8 Mississippi

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No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State

The Broncos might be the FBS team closest to locking up a CFP berth after they throttled Western Michigan in the hunt for the Group of 6 bid. They will still have to deal with New Mexico out of the Mountain West, but the new class of the Pac-12 is pointed at the playoff as it stands. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes seem to have discovered that nobody can cover Jeremiah Smith and throwing to him repeatedly is the trick to having effortless wins. Who knew? 

No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Florida

Any lingering doubts Florida fans had about Jon Sumrall are now completely out the window after that massive win over Ole Miss in the Swamp. Given the rest of their schedule, the Georgia-Florida game could decide at least one SEC title game participant. The Cougars took the weekend off but given how the rest of the Big 12 performed on Saturday, it’s hard to pick anyone else to win the league right now.

No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Indiana

Curt Cignetti can’t be terribly happy at how the Hoosiers played on both sides of the ball against Northwestern in a game that was much closer than it should have been. If there was a silver lining, it’s the emergence of tailback Lee Beebe Jr., who looks like a bona fide star who could play a massive role for the reigning champions. Down in Tuscaloosa, Ala., it was yet another coming out party for young quarterback Keelon Russell in throwing for four touchdowns and running for another amid a destruction of South Carolina. If the Tide can keep rolling like that, they’ll not only be a factor in the SEC race, but the CFP one as well. 

No. 9 LSU at No. 8 Mississippi

The first time these two teams met, it was a box-office affair in Oxford, Miss., so why not raise the stakes a bit with a CFP game? The Rebels were certainly due for a comedown after all of the emotions of last week but getting run off the field like that is going to be a real test for Pete Golding to respond. As for the Tigers, they have to be a little concerned about how beat up QB Sam Leavitt is at the moment even as they savor a pretty convincing win over a team that made the CFP last year in Texas A&M. 

Rose Bowl: No. 4 Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish put together an easy, complete victory against rival Purdue though you just know that head coach Marcus Freeman can’t be happy about giving up some late scores in the second half. There’s still a ceiling to this group that we haven’t seen yet, but they don’t have to peak just yet given who is coming up on the schedule. 

Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Miami

It’s going to be Week 5 and Darian Mensah has more touchdowns than incompletions on the season. Safe to say that move to Coral Gables, Fla., is working out as the Hurricanes look even better than they did at this point last season. If they can top Clemson next week, you might as well go ahead and award the ACC title to Miami and skip the next few months.

Peach Bowl: No. 2 Georgia

We all wanted to see the Bulldogs play a team with a pulse, and it turns out that doesn’t make much of a difference after a dominating effort against Oklahoma. Given how good the defense is under Kirby Smart and how the offense is rolling, it appears the juggernaut between the hedges is primed to contend for the national title yet again.

Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Texas

We’ve still yet to see a complete performance from the Longhorns that wows you across a full 60 minutes of football, but it’s still a quality win to go on the road at a place like Tennessee and walk out a winner. Arch Manning still needs to be better for an offense that lacks consistency, but if Colin Simmons is a game-wrecker every Saturday like he was against the Vols, that just might be enough to get this team back to Atlanta for the SEC title game.

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