Week 4 12-team College Football Playoff prediction: SEC & Big Ten continue to reign

The SEC and Big Ten are the two most dominant leagues in college football, something that becomes abundantly more clear with each passing week. Even with powerhouses Alabama and Georgia on bye weeks, the SEC continued to look the part in week four. Similarly, the Big Ten elites dominated against inferior competition in a week with few surprises. 

Top-10 teams like Texas, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Miami, and Penn State all enjoyed lopsided victories.

Though the final score won’t show it, Tennessee flexed its muscle at Oklahoma. The Volunteers opened SEC play strong with the road win, which was arguably the most impressive performance of the week all things considered. 

With week four in the books, here is how my 12-team playoff prediction shakes out. 

This field would turn in some outstanding first round matchups between the sport's two premier conferences. Oregon at Tennessee, Penn State at Alabama, and Michigan at Ole Miss would all be huge SEC-Big Ten showdowns in incredible venues. As a college football fan, such environments will definitely be something to look forward to come December.

Utah takes over as my projected Big 12 champ. After looking strong in non-conference play to start the season, Kansas State laid an egg in its Big 12 opener, falling to BYU 38-9. Meanwhile, the Utes got over a huge hurdle, beating fellow league contender Oklahoma State even without starting quarterback Cam Rising. 

Utah was dominant in the trenches, running for 250 yards on just shy of 5.0 yards per carry while holding All-American and reigning Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon to just 42 yards on the ground. After controlling the majority of the game, Kyle Whittingham’s squad survived a late 16-0 surge from Oklahoma State and held on for the 22-19 win. They are just doing enough to get by right now, but Utah looks like it will re-assert itself as a legitimate playoff contender when Rising returns. 

Michigan replaces USC in the playoff prediction after beating the Trojans in an instant classic. It’s way too early to write off USC, a program that looks much improved in general, but Michigan gets the nod having earned the head-to-head win at home. 

With Kansas State falling out, Oregon finds its way back into the field despite enjoying a bye week. The Ducks have looked shaky so far, but they remain unblemished heading into conference play. Oregon will have plenty of chances to validate its preseason top-10 ranking in the Big Ten. 

A week after winning at Florida State, Memphis surrendered 56 points in a conference loss to Navy. As a result, Boise State moves into the 12-seed as the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. Boise State narrowly missed pulling one of the upsets of the year back in week two, losing to Oregon 37-34 on a field goal as time expired. That is still the only defeat for the Broncos, who will have a chance to make a run at the playoff in Mountain West play. 

Who's on the outside looking in?

Two more SEC teams, Missouri and LSU, could have a chance to contend. I’m not a believer in either team, but Missouri at least has a favorable schedule on its side.

I currently project the ACC as a one-bid league, but Clemson looks better and better every week. Dabo Swinney’s team avoids Miami and doesn’t have any more major obstacles in the regular season. If they can win tricky home games against Louisville and rival South Carolina, the Tigers could fight their way back into playoff contention. 

A gargantuan bout between Alabama and Georgia is on the horizon and will headline the week five slate. As usual, college football should deliver fireworks and the playoff picture could get shaken up even more.