Bowl projections: Ohio State slides into College Football Playoff after USC falls in

The Pac-12 has officially eliminated itself from the College Football Playoff for the sixth consecutive season, while the Big Ten looks to be in position to become the second conference in event history to put two teams in a singular four-team field, joining the SEC. All of this comes as No. 5 Ohio State’s hopes to compete for a national championship got new life Friday night with No. 4 USC getting obliterated 47-24 by No. 11 Utah in the 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game.

Should the Buckeyes be chosen by the CFP Selection Committee, they would certainly slot into the fourth spot and be participating in the playoff for the third time in the last four seasons. Ohio State beat Clemson 49-28 in the semifinal two years ago before ultimately falling to Alabama in the 2021 CFP National Championship. The No. 6 Crimson Tide are unlikely to jump the Buckeyes for the final spot this year given both teams are off this week and OSU has one fewer loss on the season.

In action to start Championship Saturday is No. 3 TCU facing No. 10 Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Horned Frogs have all but clinched a spot in the CFP, and while they are unlikely to drop lower than they presently stand at third even with a loss, they could move into the first or second spot with a win plus losses from No. 1 Georgia and/or No. 2 Michigan later in the day.

College Football Playoff

With the Utes defending their Pac-12 title and beating the Trojans for the second time this season, Utah will take the Pac-12’s spot in the Rose Bowl where it is projected to face No. 8 Penn State. Though the Nittany Lions may have been chosen by the Rose Bowl anyway, they are now a no-brainer for the game as the highest-ranked Big Ten team not playing in the CFP.

Ohio State’s advancement into the CFP opened a spot in the Orange Bowl where it was previously projected to play the ACC champion, which for this projection is No. 9 Clemson (vs. No. 23 North Carolina on Saturday). Taking its place is No. 7 Tennessee, the highest-ranked remaining team from a pool of the SEC, Big Ten or Notre Dame.

The Volunteers were originally projected for the Cotton Bowl against expected AAC champion No. 18 Tulane (vs. No. 22 UCF on Saturday). Replacing the Vols are the Trojans, who would get into the New Year’s Six over No. 12 Washington and No. 13 Florida State.

New Year’s Six bowl games

More shakeups are sure to come as Championship Weekend continues Saturday.

Don’t see your team? Check out Jerry Palm’s updated bowl projections as well as the CBS Sports bowl eligibility tracker for updates on what your team needs to do in order to go bowling this season.