We're now through four weeks of college football, a time in the calendar when we're finally starting to get a feel for which college football teams are good, and which ones aren't.
Because of it, for the rest of the season going forward, every Monday morning we'll take a quick look at all the major bowl projections going forward, to give you thoughts on where the playoff picture and other major bowl games stand.
As a quick refresher, this year the two college football semifinals will be played at the Orange Bowl (Miami) and Cotton Bowl (Arlington) with the rest of the games going on as scheduled. The title game will be played in Indianapolis a week later.
Here is the latest update, on Monday, September 27th from all the major outlets:
College Football Playoff:
Cotton Bowl, December 31st (Arlington, Texas): No. 4 Oregon vs. No. 1 Alabama
Orange Bowl, December 31st (Miami, FL): No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 2 Georgia
Other New Year's Six Games:
Peach Bowl, December 30th (Atlanta, GA): Wake Forest vs. Florida
Fiesta Bowl, January 1st (Glendale, AZ): Ohio State vs. Cincinnati
Rose Bowl, January 1st (Pasadena, CA): Iowa vs. UCLA
Sugar Bowl, January 1st (New Orleans, LA):Ole Miss vs. Texas
College Football Playoff:
Cotton Bowl, December 31st (Arlington, Texas): No. 4 Penn State vs. No. 1 Alabama
Orange Bowl, December 31st (Miami, FL): No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 2 Georgia
Other New Year's Six Games:
Peach Bowl, December 30th (Atlanta, GA): NC State vs. Florida
Fiesta Bowl, January 1st (Glendale, AZ): BYU vs. Cincinnati
Rose Bowl, January 1st (Pasadena, CA): Iowa vs. UCLA
Sugar Bowl, January 1st (New Orleans, LA): Oklahoma vs. Arkansas
College Football Playoff:
Cotton Bowl, December 31st (Arlington, Texas): Oregon vs. Alabama
Orange Bowl, December 31st (Miami, FL): Iowa vs. Georgia
Other New Year's Six Games:
Peach Bowl, December 30th (Atlanta, GA): Wake Forest vs. Notre Dame
Fiesta Bowl, January 1st (Glendale, AZ): Ohio State vs. Cincinnati
Rose Bowl, January 1st (Pasadena, CA): Penn State vs. UCLA
Sugar Bowl, January 1st (New Orleans, LA):Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma
College Football Playoff:
Cotton Bowl, December 31st (Arlington, Texas): Penn State vs. Alabama
Orange Bowl, December 31st (Miami, FL): Oregon vs. Georgia
Other New Year's Six Games:
Peach Bowl, December 30th (Atlanta, GA): Florida vs. Notre Dame
Fiesta Bowl, January 1st (Glendale, AZ): Ohio State vs. Cincinnati
Rose Bowl, January 1st (Pasadena, CA): Iowa vs. UCLA
Sugar Bowl, January 1st (New Orleans, LA): Arkansas vs. Oklahoma
College Football Playoff:
Cotton Bowl, December 31st (Arlington, Texas): No. 4 Oregon vs. No. 1 Alabama
Orange Bowl, December 31st (Miami, FL): No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 Georgia
Other New Year's Six Games:
Peach Bowl, December 30th (Atlanta, GA): Virginia Tech vs. Notre Dame
Fiesta Bowl, January 1st (Glendale, AZ): Iowa vs. Cincinnati
Rose Bowl, January 1st (Pasadena, CA): Ohio State vs. UCLA
Sugar Bowl, January 1st (New Orleans, LA): Texas vs. Arkansas
Some quick reaction to what we see: Clearly Jerry Palm was the most creative - in a good or bad way, depending on how you look at it - with his selections. He still has Oklahoma as a playoff team (presumably as the Big 12 champ), something that none of the other major outlets have. He also has Ohio State as the Big Ten champ, again, something else that no other outlet has.
In terms of the playoff itself, it seems pretty straightforward - everyone likes Bama, Georgia and Oregon, with a mix for the fourth spot. Three experts have Penn state there (the pick of Aaron on today's podcast), with one each taking Iowa and Palm, again taking Oklahoma.
Which leads us to the Sugar Bowl, where the highest rated team from the Big 12 that isn't in the playoff, plays the highest rated team from the SEC that isn't in the playoff. There seems to be some split from both conferences, with three experts taking Arkansas for that spot out of the SEC, and three taking Ole Miss. Meanwhile, two have Texas representing the Big 12 (one, because again Palm has Oklahoma in the playoff) and two four have Oklahoma in New Orleans on New Year's night.
For more college football, make sure to listen to today's Aaron Torres Podcast - where Aaron talks Notre Dame, Arkansas-A&M, Oklahoma and more. You can listen below or subscribe: