Bowl projections: Ohio State into College Football Playoff after USC falls as Georgia, Michigan, TCU clinch - CBS Sports

4 spot, USC or Ohio State.

Well, Utah beat USC for the second time this season, 47-24 in the 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game, to knock the Trojans out of playoff contention9

The Buckeyes' positioning only comes into some question because Kansas State handed TCU its first defeat of the season in the Big 12 Championship Game with the Wildcats avenging their regular-season loss to the Horned Frogs in overtime.

I believe TCU will remain ahead of Ohio State in the CFP, but even if it does not, forget any notion of Alabama moving up along with Ohio State and supplanting TCU.

14 LSU, and Michigan clinched the second seed by winning its second straight Big Ten Championship Game, this season over Purdue. .

(4) Ohio State.

The Rose Bowl will feature Pac-12 champion Utah, which is making a repeat appearance in the Granddaddy of Them All after winning a second straight league crown.

Penn State will represent the Big Ten in place of league champion Michigan as the highest-ranked Big Ten team not playing in the CFP.

USC should stay high enough in the CFP Rankings to earn a spot in the Cotton Bowl.

Ohio State being out of the at-large pool for the New Year's Six opens the door for the Trojans.

Like Kansas State earlier in the day, Tulane also avenged a regular-season loss in the AAC Championship Game.

The Green Wave throttled UCF 45-28 to win the league crown and advance to their first major bowl game since 1939 when undefeated Tulane faced similarly undefeated Texas A&M in the 1940 Sugar Bowl.

Tulane will represent the Group of Five in this year's Cotton Bowl against USC.

Speaking of the Wildcats, their Big 12 championship clinches a berth in the Sugar Bowl.

Kansas State will face Alabama, the replacement for SEC champion Georgia.

The Orange Bowl will get ACC champion Clemson, which handled North Carolina 39-10 in the ACC Championship Game.

Buffalo and New Mexico State were the last teams to become bowl eligible this week, albeit in different ways

New Mexico State went out and picked up a sixth win anyway over FCS Valparaiso in a game added late this weekend, but it does not count toward the six needed the Aggies needed because only one FCS opponent can be counted and NMSU beat Lamar earlier this season