As we near the quarter pole of the college football season, the best aspect of the expanded College Football Playoff is the unpredictability of who makes the 12-team field.
No longer will the college football season resemble Major League Baseball where 90% of the teams are eliminated from the postseason after the first month.
The beauty of the new format is there will legitimately be a minimum of two dozen teams in the running for an at-large or conference title bid in late November.
That brings me to this week’s bowl projections.
Projecting the Group of Five’s highest-ranked conference champion is a weekly crapshoot. Northern Illinois remains my pick, thanks to its win over Notre Dame. But one could make a convincing argument for UNLV, Memphis or Toledo — heck, it would shorter to list the teams not in the running.
Anyway, onto this week’s bowl projections. And remember, if you disagree with them, they’ll be different next week.
Included in my bowl projections is the projected point spread of each matchup from Action Network senior writer Collin Wilson’s betting power ratings.
Also, click on the link to download the free Action Network app. It's the perfect place to check scores, track bets, and read analysis and news.
*Conference champions projected to receive automatic bids
College Football Bowl Projections for Week 4
Projected College Football Playoff Field
| 1 |  Georgia* | SEC | ||||
| 2 |  Ohio State* | Big Ten | ||||
| 3 |  Miami* | ACC | ||||
| 4 |  Utah* | Big 12 | ||||
| 5 |  Texas | SEC | ||||
| 6 |  Alabama | SEC | ||||
| 7 |  Ole Miss | SEC | ||||
| 8 |  Tennessee | SEC | ||||
| 9 |  Oregon | Big Ten | ||||
| 10 |  Penn State | Big Ten | ||||
| 11 |  USC | Big Ten | ||||
| 12 |  Northern Illinois* | MAC | ||||
College Football Playoff First Round
 CFP First Round Dec. 20 • Knoxville, TN Oregon -6 Tennessee  | CFP First Round Dec. 21 • Austin, TX NIU Texas -36 |
CFP First Round Dec. 21 • Tuscaloosa, AL  USC  Alabama -8 | CFP First Round Dec. 21 • Oxford, MS Penn State -5 Ole Miss |
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals
 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Dec. 31 • Glendale, AZ Utah Texas -16 |  Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Jan. 1 • Atlanta, GA Miami Alabama -7.5 |
 Rose Bowl Jan. 1 • Pasadena, CA Ohio State -6.5 Ole Miss |  Allstate Sugar Bowl Jan. 1 • New Orleans, LA Georgia -14 Tennessee |
College Football Playoff Semifinals
 Capital One Orange Bowl Jan. 9 • Miami, FL Georgia -3 Texas |  Goodyear Cotton Bowl Jan. 10 • Arlington, TX Ohio State -1.5 Alabama |
CFP National Championship Prediction
Projections for All Other Bowl Games
 Bahamas Bowl Jan. 4 • Nassau, Bahamas  C. Michigan  Louisiana -13.5 |  Duke's Mayo Bowl Jan. 3 • Charlotte, NC  Pittsburgh  Illinois -3 |  First Responder Bowl Jan. 3 • Dallas, TX  SMU -7  Texas Tech |  TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Jan. 2 • Jacksonville, FL  Auburn  Louisville -3.5 |  Texas Bowl Dec. 31 • Houston, TX  Iowa State -2.5  Kentucky |  Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Dec. 31 • Orlando, FL  Missouri -11  Nebraska |  Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Dec. 31 • El Paso, TX  UNC  Arizona -3 |  ReliaQuest Bowl Dec. 31 • Tampa, FL  Michigan  Oklahoma -2.5 |  Music City Bowl Dec. 30 • Nashville, TN  LSU -9.5  Indiana |  Independence Bowl Dec. 28 • Shreveport, LA  TCU -7.5  Arizona State |  Valero Alamo Bowl Dec. 28 • San Antonio, TX  Kansas State -11  Washington St. |  Military Bowl Dec. 28 • Annapolis, MD  Boston College -13  Navy |  Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Dec. 28 • Tucson, AZ  W. Michigan  San Jose St. -6 |  Pop-Tarts Bowl Dec. 28 • Orlando, FL  Notre Dame -2  Oklahoma St. |  New Mexico Bowl Dec. 28 • Albuquerque, NM  UTSA -3  Georgia Southern |  Pinstripe Bowl Dec. 28 • Bronx, NY  NC State  Wisconsin -6 |  Wasabi Fenway Bowl Dec. 28 • Boston, MA  Virginia Tech -5.5  South Florida |  Holiday Bowl Dec. 27 • San Diego, CA  Clemson -9.5  California |  Las Vegas Bowl Dec. 27 • Las Vegas, NV  Texas A&M -8  Washington |  AutoZone Liberty Bowl Dec. 27 • Memphis, TN  UCF -2  S. Carolina |  Birmingham Bowl Dec. 27 • Birmingham, AL  Syracuse -4.5  Michigan St. |  Armed Forces Bowl Dec. 27 • Fort Worth, TX  Kansas -17.5  Army |  68 Ventures Bowl Dec. 26 • Mobile, AL  Arkansas St. -2  WKU |  Guaranteed Rate Bowl Dec. 26 • Phoenix, AZ  BYU  Iowa -8.5 |  Detroit Bowl Dec. 26 • Detroit, MI  Rutgers -10.5  Miami OH |  Hawai'i Bowl Dec. 24 • Honolulu, HI  Fresno State -3  Tulane |  Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Dec. 23 • Boise, ID  Bowling Green -4  Georgia St. |  Myrtle Beach Bowl Dec. 23 • Conway, SC  Minnesota  Memphis -4.5 |  Gasparilla Bowl Dec. 20 • Tampa, FL  Cincinnati  Boise State -7.5 |  StaffDNA Cure Bowl Dec. 20 • Orlando, FL  JMU -5.5  East Carolina |  New Orleans Bowl Dec. 19 • New Orleans, LA  Liberty  Texas State -1.5 |  LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk Dec. 18 • Inglewood, CA  Oregon State  UNLV -3.5 |  Boca Raton Bowl Dec. 18 • Boca Raton, FL  Toledo  App State -3 |  Frisco Bowl Dec. 17 • Frisco, TX  North Texas  Sam Houston -6.5 |  Camellia Bowl Dec. 14 • Montgomery, AL  Coastal Carolina -4  Buffalo |
