The regular season is over and, except for the 18 teams playing in their conference championship games, the résumés are complete.
Rivalry Week didn't provide many surprises among the College Football Playoff contenders, while a handful of other teams reached the coveted six-win mark to achieve bowl eligibility. (Note: An additional bowl game will be added to the slate since there are 82 eligible teams.) That provides more clarity to the postseason picture than we've had previously, but there is still a lot that needs to be sorted out.
As with last season's inaugural 12-team CFP, the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams, will make the field. Unlike last year, the four highest-ranked teams (not necessarily conference champions) will be awarded first-round byes. The other eight teams will meet in first-round games at the campus sites of seeds Nos. 5 through 8.
From there, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in what had been the New Year's Six bowls, with the national championship game scheduled for Jan. 19 at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium.
All of that is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Apart from the playoff is the 36-game slate of bowl games, beginning with the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Dec. 13.
We're here for all of it.
ESPN bowl gurus Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach are projecting every postseason matchup, including their breakdowns of how the playoff will play out.
Jump to a section:
Playoff picks | Quarterfinals
Semis, title game | Bowl season
First-round games (at campus sites)
Friday, Dec. 19
8 p.m., ABC, ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 20
Noon, ABC, ESPN
3:30 p.m., TNT
7:30 p.m., TNT
Bonagura: No. 12 North Texas at No. 5 Texas A&M
Schlabach: No. 12 Tulane at No. 5
espn.com
