Week 3 of the college football season brought a major flex by the top teams, with Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, USC and Clemson all rolling to decisive routs. Other results, including losses by Michigan State, Miami and BYU, will be felt in the New Year's Six games and the bowl matchups further down the pecking order.
ESPN college football reporters Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach return with their latest projections for all the games, including their analysis of the CFP picture and which teams helped and hurt their causes the most over the weekend.
All times Eastern
College Football Playoff
CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
Jan. 9, Time TBD, ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Alabama vs. Georgia
Schlabach: Ohio State vs. Georgia
CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Dec. 31, 4 or 8 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Georgia vs. USC
Schlabach: Georgia vs. USC
CFP Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
Dec. 31, 4 or 8 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Ohio State vs. Alabama
Schlabach: Ohio State vs. Alabama
CFP breakdown
Bonagura: The only team in the AP top 10 that didn't win convincingly was No. 10 Arkansas, which isn't exactly a formula for shaking up the CFP picture. There are two main questions to consider: (1) Ohio State or Michigan? (2) Who is No. 4?
Michigan has played three bad teams (Colorado State, Hawai'i and UConn), so while scoring 50-plus in each game catches the eye, it's too early to have a great sense of how that will translate when the degree of difficulty levels up. Picking Michigan ahead of Ohio State is defensible, but we'll stick with Ohio State for at least another week (the most likely scenario is that there will be room for only one of them).
As for No. 4, pick one of USC, Oklahoma or Clemson. From this vantage point, USC has been the most impressive, but not by a significant margin. There are strong cases to be made for both Oklahoma and Clemson, with all three winning each of their games comfortably.
Schlabach: Defending national champion Georgia continues to look impressive -- maybe even better than last season's team that ended the program's 41-year drought without a national title. Quarterback Stetson Bennett is playing like a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, and the defense hasn't missed a beat after having five starters from 2021 selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Ohio State and Alabama were equally explosive in dominant wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Toledo, respectively. I replaced Oklahoma with USC for my fourth spot for now. The Trojans are already firing on all cylinders under coach Lincoln Riley, scoring 152 points in their first three games. Next week's trip to Oregon State might be sneaky difficult, though.
New Year's Six
Dec. 30
Capital One Orange Bowl
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
Time TBD, ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Clemson vs. Penn State
Schlabach: Clemson vs. Penn State
Dec. 31
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
Noon, ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Oklahoma vs. Kentucky
Schlabach: Oklahoma vs. Tennessee
Jan. 2
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
1 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Oklahoma State vs. Cincinnati
Schlabach: Oklahoma State vs. Appalachian State
Rose Bowl Game
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California)
5 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Michigan vs. Utah
Schlabach: Michigan vs. Oregon
Bowl season
Dec. 16
HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl
Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium (Nassau, Bahamas)
11:30 a.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: UTSA vs. Toledo
Schlabach: Florida Atlantic vs. Kent State
Duluth Trading Cure Bowl
Exploria Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Marshall vs. Miami (Ohio)
Schlabach: Tulane vs. Rice
Dec. 17
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Fenway Park (Boston)
11 a.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: North Carolina vs. Tulane
Schlabach: North Carolina vs. Houston
Cricket Celebration Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Noon, ABC and the ESPN App
Bonagura: South Carolina State vs. Jackson State
Schlabach: South Carolina State vs. Jackson State
New Mexico Bowl
University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
2:15 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: BYU vs. San Jose State
Schlabach: North Texas vs. Texas Tech
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
3:30 p.m., ABC and the ESPN App
Bonagura: UCLA vs. Boise State
Schlabach: UCLA vs. Boise State
LendingTree Bowl
Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama)
5:45 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Georgia Southern vs. Liberty
Schlabach: Louisiana vs. San Diego State
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
7:30 p.m., ABC and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Oregon State vs. Florida
Schlabach: Oregon State vs. Texas A&M
Frisco Bowl
Toyota Stadium (Frisco, Texas)
9:15 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: South Alabama vs. Rice
Schlabach: Marshall vs. Wyoming
Dec. 19
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina)
2:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Florida Atlantic vs. Ohio
Schlabach: Georgia State vs. Middle Tennessee State
Dec. 20
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)
3:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Fresno State vs. Kent State
Schlabach: San Jose State vs. Toledo
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
FAU Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida)
7:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: East Carolina vs. Arkansas State
Schlabach: East Carolina vs. Georgia Southern
Dec. 21
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
9 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Western Kentucky vs. Appalachian State
Schlabach: UTSA vs. Coastal Carolina
Dec. 22
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas)
7:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Kansas State vs. Memphis
Schlabach: Kansas vs. UCF
Dec. 23
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)
3 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Army vs. Houston
Schlabach: Washington State vs. Liberty
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
6:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Auburn vs. Duke
Schlabach: Purdue vs. UAB
Dec. 24
EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)
8 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: UAB vs. Wyoming
Schlabach: Western Kentucky vs. Air Force
Dec. 26
Quick Lane Bowl
Ford Field (Detroit)
2:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Rutgers vs. Eastern Michigan
Schlabach: Rutgers vs. Central Michigan
Dec. 27
Camellia Bowl
Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama)
Noon, ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Louisiana vs. Middle Tennessee
Schlabach: Eastern Michigan vs. South Alabama
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)
Time TBD, ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: SMU vs. Air Force
Schlabach: Memphis vs. BYU
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl
Protective Life Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama)
Time TBD, ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Arizona vs. Missouri
Schlabach: Cincinnati vs. Mississippi State
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Chase Field (Phoenix)
10:15 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Kansas vs. Illinois
Schlabach: Kansas State vs. Iowa
Dec. 28
Military Bowl presented by Peraton
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland)
2 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Syracuse vs. UCF
Schlabach: Duke vs. SMU
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee)
5:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: TCU vs. Texas A&M
Schlabach: TCU vs. South Carolina
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
Petco Park (San Diego)
8 p.m., Fox
Bonagura: NC State vs. Oregon State
Schlabach: Wake Forest vs. Washington
TaxAct Texas Bowl
NRG Stadium (Houston)
9 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Arkansas
Schlabach: Iowa State vs. Ole Miss
Team whose stock took the biggest hit
Bonagura: Arkansas. Maybe it's harsh to slot a team here after a win, but Arkansas has received some CFP buzz, and teams in that conversation shouldn't struggle at home against FCS teams, even good ones. Arkansas needed to erase a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Missouri State. It's not a loss -- so it obviously could have been worse -- but let's pump the breaks on Arkansas a bit.
Schlabach: I wondered whether Michigan State would be able to reload after last season's 11-2 breakthrough under coach Mel Tucker. The Spartans' ugly 39-28 loss at Washington on Saturday isn't a good sign. The game wasn't as close as the score might indicate. The Huskies led 22-0 midway through the second quarter. Washington piled up 503 yards of offense, including 397 passing. Michigan State ran for just 42 yards. The early results suggest Big Ten East foes Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State might be better than the Spartans. Michigan State also plays Minnesota and Wisconsin, who might be the best teams from the West Division.
Dec. 29
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium (New York)
2 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
Schlabach: Pitt vs. Wisconsin
Cheez-It Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
5:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Miami vs. Baylor
Schlabach: Miami vs. Texas
Valero Alamo Bowl
Alamodome (San Antonio)
9 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Texas vs. Washington
Schlabach: Baylor vs. Utah
Team that helped its cause the most
Bonagura: Washington. Coming off a miserable 4-8 campaign, the Huskies were mostly an afterthought as this season began. However, after an impressive 39-28 win against Michigan State, Kalen DeBoer has the Huskies looking like Pac-12 title contenders. No team in the country improved its stock more in Week 3.
Schlabach: Oregon was left for dead after its ugly 49-3 loss to Georgia in Atlanta in the season opener. The Ducks weren't competitive in coach Dan Lanning's first game, but give them credit for bouncing back. Oregon crushed FCS program Eastern Washington 70-14 last week, then took down No. 12 BYU 41-20 at home Saturday. The Oregon offense was balanced and the defense surrendered only 61 rushing yards to the Cougars. The Ducks are right back in the Pac-12 championship hunt.
Dec. 30
Duke's Mayo Bowl
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Noon, ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Wake Forest vs. Purdue
Schlabach: Florida State vs. Maryland
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas)
2 p.m., CBS
Bonagura: Florida State vs. Washington State
Schlabach: Syracuse vs. Cal
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Florida)
3:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Pitt vs. LSU
Schlabach: Notre Dame vs. Florida
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl
Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona)
4:30 p.m.
Bonagura: UNLV vs. Central Michigan
Schlabach: Fresno State vs. Miami (Ohio)
Dec. 31
TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee)
Noon, ABC and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Maryland vs. Mississippi State
Schlabach: Michigan State vs. LSU
Jan. 2
ReliaQuest Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
Noon, ESPN2 and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Wisconsin vs. LSU
Schlabach: NC State vs. Kentucky
Citrus Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
1 p.m., ABC and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Minnesota vs. Tennessee
Schlabach: Minnesota vs. Arkansas