One of college football’s wildest regular seasons came to an end over Thanksgiving weekend, giving us another plateful of surprises, from mild (South Carolina to Clemson) to spicy (Syracuse to Miami) to flaming hot (Michigan to Ohio State ).

That leaves only the conference championship games to decide who plays where and when in the College Football Playoff and the remaining bowl games – and there’s still a lot to figure out. Apart from the 18 teams playing for their championship title, everyone else’s CV is complete.

How have the latest results impacted the CFP and bowl matchups?

In the new, expanded 12-team playoffs, the five highest-ranked conference champions will make the field along with the next seven highest-ranked teams. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive first-round byes, while the other eight teams seeded 5-8 will meet on campus.

From there, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in the former New Year’s Six Bowls, with this season’s national championship game scheduled for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

However, all of this is just the tip of the iceberg. Aside from the playoffs, there are 36 bowl games, from the Cricket Celebration Bowl on December 14th to the Bahamas Bowl on January 4th.

ESPN Bowl gurus Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach project every postseason matchup every week, including their breakdown of how the CFP will play out, until the actual matchups are determined on Selection Day (December 8).

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Playoff Tips | Quarterfinals
Semifinals, title game | Bowl season

College Football Playoffs

First round games

20-21 December – ABC/ESPN or TNT Sports*
Bonagura: No. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Notre Dame
Schlabach: No. 12 Alabama at No. 5 Notre Dame