No. 4 Oklahoma is unbeaten heading into this Saturday’s showdown against Texas Tech in Norman at 2:30 p.m.

That means the Sooners are still very much in the mix to be one of the teams selected into the College Football Playoff. USA TODAY’s Erick Smith released his latest bowl projections and OU is in the College Football Playoff where he has the Sooners set to square off on New Year’s Eve against Georgia in the Cotton Bowl.

Smith writes that Cincinnati’s playoff case continues to grow stronger and that the odds of the Bearcats being left out after an unbeaten season is getting smaller by the day.

According to Smith, how Oklahoma’s season plays out is one of the significant factors on whether or not the Bearcats ultimately get in.

Oklahoma State’s loss leaves one undefeated team in the Big 12. That team, Oklahoma, still faces its three toughest games of the season and has been less-than-inspiring for most of the year, especially last week in a too-close-for-comfort win against Kansas. Wake Forest is unbeaten in the ACC and faces a backloaded schedule, like the Sooners. Alabama looked shaky at home against Tennessee, causing some unease about how it will fare in the expected matchup with Georgia in the SEC title game.

So what does this all mean for Cincinnati? Even with the Bearcats at No. 2 in the poll, they’ll need some help to make the field. The SEC and Big Ten champion are going to be ahead of them without some wild results. Should Alabama beat Georgia in Atlanta, they’d fall to fourth because the Bulldogs are going to be in the field unless they’re upset before then.

Cincinnati’s resume will stack up well with one-loss champions from the Power Five, which is why the fate of Oklahoma and Wake Forest and the SEC title game are so important. If two from the group of the Sooners, Demon Deacons and Crimson Tide lose, the Bearcats will be in a strong position as long as they hold serve.  The way things are going, that seems more and more possible. Just not ready to predict that yet. – Smith, USA TODAY

Smith wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on Cincinnati getting into the CFP just yet. Instead, his other semifinal game features Alabama playing Ohio State on Dec. 31 in the Orange Bowl.

For Oklahoma, the path is clear: win out, stay perfect and capture the Big 12 Championship game on Dec. 4 and the Sooners will be in the CFP and likely playing its semifinal game at the Cotton Bowl.

OU currently has the third-best odds to reach the CFP according to FiveThirtyEight.

The first batch of College Football Playoff rankings will be announced next Tuesday night on Nov. 2.

What about the rest of the Big 12? Smith projects Oklahoma State against Kentucky in the Sugar Bowl, Texas battling LSU in the Texas Bowl, Baylor versus Wake Forest in the Cheez-It Bowl, Iowa State playing Arizona State in the Alamo Bowl, Kansas State matching up with USC in the First Responder Bowl and TCU tangling with Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl.

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