College Football Bowl Projections: Playoff Field Changes After Week 4

We update our forecast for 10 key postseason games.

There were not many changes at the top of the major college football bowl picture this week, though we did have a move in one of our CFP semifinal projections. 

In Week 4, USC looked mortal in a win over Oregon State, and Oklahoma fell to Kansas State. But speaking of the Sunflower State, let us welcome Kansas to the picture as the 4–0 Jayhawks spend this week as the Big 12’s representative in the Sugar Bowl.

Here are Sports Illustrated’s post–Week 4 bowl projections for the College Football Playoff, New Year’s Six and a few more.

All times are Eastern.

College Football Playoff

Peach Bowl, Atlanta (Dec. 31, 4 or 8 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Georgia vs. Ohio State

Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz. (Dec. 31, 4 or 8 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
USC vs. Oklahoma State

New Year’s Six

Orange Bowl, Miami (Dec. 30, 7:30 or 8 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC/Notre Dame
Clemson vs. Tennessee

Sugar Bowl, New Orleans (Dec. 31, 12 p.m., ESPN)
SEC vs. Big 12
Alabama vs. Kansas

Cotton Bowl, Arlington, Texas (Jan. 2, 1 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. at-large
UCF vs. Penn State

Rose Bowl, Pasadena (Jan. 2, 5 p.m., ESPN)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Michigan vs. Utah

Other key bowls

Dec. 30

Arizona Bowl, Tucson (4:30 p.m., Barstool)
Mountain West vs. MAC
Eastern Michigan vs. Air Force

Dec. 31

Music City Bowl, Nashville (12 p.m., ABC)
Big Ten vs. SEC
Minnesota vs. Ole Miss

Jan. 2

ReliaQuest Bowl, Tampa (12 p.m., ESPN2)
Big Ten/ACC vs. SEC
Texas A&M vs. Wake Forest

Citrus Bowl, Orlando (1 p.m., ABC)
SEC vs. Big Ten
Kentucky vs. Michigan State

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