College Football Playoff bracket projections after Week 3: Georgia, Texas and the SEC's six-bid bounty

Week 3 of the college football slate is in the books and fortunately for the favorites, it came with very few upsets.

There were a few close calls though, ones that may impact the CFB rankings. Georgia squeaked by Kentucky, Utah avoided Cam Rising-less drama vs. Utah State. Missouri toughed it out against Boston College.

How did the results and performances from Week 3 impact our view of the 12-team playoff field? Let's look at what the College Football Playoff bracket could look like at the end of the season...

College Football Playoff bracket after Week 3

First Four Out: USC, Notre Dame, Kansas State, Clemson

So here's the problem. There are too many SEC and Big Ten teams who have strong playoff projections. Not all of them can make it. Right now though, the SEC teams look too strong to leave out.

Outside of the conference winners, Texas, Ole Miss and Oregon have an inside track to 11 wins. They're locks.

Tennessee, USC, Penn State and Missouri all look like really good football teams. The former three have schedules that won't make it easy on them. Of those, the Trojans have the toughest road. While the Vols and Nittany Lions have two likely losses on their slate, USC could end up with three if they put even one foot wrong.

Notre Dame already gave themselves an uphill battle with their loss to NIU.

Kansas State's Big 12 schedule isn't going to give them much opportunity to warrant an at-large bid. I don't see them beating Utah for the conference title.

Clemson is the same. Their schedule is very winnable but it doesn't build a strong enough resumé to get in without the conference championship that I expect Miami to win.

Biggest nothing-to-worry-about game: Georgia survives Kentucky

Georgia had a hard time on the road at Kentucky, which certainly could raise concerns over the Bulldogs upcoming trips to Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss. I'm just not willing to got there yet.

Kirby Smart's team has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to a nervy defensive battle on the road. It felt like one of those games where the opposition drags a better team into the muck. The important thing is that Georgia was strong enough pull themselves out.

The road games against Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss won't follow the same script.

Best depth: Arch Manning makes Quinn Ewers' injury feel irrelevant

What an embarrassment of riches Steve Sarkisian has. Most teams that lose their Heisman Trophy candidate to an injury take a considerable step back (coughUtahcough). Not Texas. When they lose their star QB they just bring in an even more exciting prospect.

Manning came into the game against UTSA in the second quarter. He very casually threw four touchdown passes and ran in a 67-yard touchdown in just a couple quarters of work.

The redshirt freshman was so good, conversations have already begun about whether he should be starting over Ewers anyways.

Ewers has a strained abdomen, which could certainly keep him out for a little while. If he's not available, nobody in Austin is sweating Manning starting.

Biggest sigh of relief: Missouri's easy schedule won't matter if they play with their food

Missouri is a popular playoff pick because they're a well-coached team with a very manageable schedule. They avoid most of the heavy-hitters in the SEC. The only ranked teams they're currently slated to play are Alabama and Oklahoma.

But the assumption that the Tigers can make it through with just one or two losses depends on them taking care of business. They flirted with blowing it on Saturday against Boston College.

The Eagles are a solid team, earning their No. 24 ranking. However, they were 14-point underdogs. The stats bear that gap out. Missouri rushed for 176 yards to BC's 49. They forced two turnovers and gave away none. They were efficient on third down and held the Eagles to 4-of-12.

So why was this game close?

Missouri fell behind 14-3 in the second quarter and settled for field goals too often. They let BC stay in the game when they had the chance to put them away.

The Tigers got away with it this time. They might not next time.

Biggest "How do you like us now?": Oregon looked like Oregon again

In a rivalry game with Oregon State, the Oregon Ducks finally looked like themselves.

Oregon barely survived games against Idaho and Boise State. Their offensive line looked terrible. Dillon Gabriel looked uncomfortable. Their defense was uncharacteristically porous at times. Simply put, they didn't look like a playoff team. Not even a little bit.

That changed in Week 3 as the Ducks stomped on the Beavers, 49-14. Rushing for 240 yards was a statement Oregon desperately needed.

We don't need to get ahead of ourselves. Oregon beat a weak opponent as they should have in the first two weeks. They'll face two more weak opponents in UCLA and Michigan State in Week 5 and 6.

The game that's circled in thick sharpie is Ohio State on Oct. 12. That's when we'll really know how improved the Ducks are.

Biggest opportunity to rise next week: USC is only "back" if they survive the Big House

USC was on a bye in Week 3, giving them extra time to prepare for a trip to the Big House.

Michigan isn't impervious there, as shown by Texas. However, it's a tough environment to win in whether you're a top-ranked team or an upset hopeful. It's the toughest challenge any of the teams in our bracket will face in Week 4.

The Trojans looked the part in the first two weeks against LSU and Utah State. But the Tigers continue to look shaky while the Aggies weren't much of a test. This game will tell us a whole lot more about Lincoln Riley's team.

It comes down to this: USC won't truly announce themselves as a playoff contender unless they stand up to Michigan.