College Football Playoff, bowl projections after Week 10

Entering Week 10, we knew there would be some movement at the top of the College Football Playoff pecking order based on the outcome of the top-five matchup between Ohio State and Penn State. But we got a whole lot more to chew on beyond the Buckeyes' win at Happy Valley, with surprising results impacting numerous conference and CFP contenders.

In the SEC, Texas A&M suffered its first conference loss, creating a logjam at the top of the league standings. In the ACC, SMU thumped previously unbeaten Pitt and Clemson fell hard to Louisville. And in the Big 12, Iowa State took it on the chin for the first time this season and Kansas State was upset by Houston.

What does it all mean for the College Football Playoff and the overall bowl picture?

In the new, expanded 12-team playoff, 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 be awarded first-round byes, with the other eight teams meeting at the campus sites of the Nos. 5-8 seeds.

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

All of that is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Apart from the playoff is the 36-game slate of bowls, from the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Dec. 14 to the Bahamas Bowl on Jan. 4.

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 CFP will play out, every week until the actual matchups are set on Selection Day (Dec. 8).

College Football Playoff

First-round games

Dec. 20-21 -- ABC/ESPN or TNT Sports*
Bonagura: No. 12 Alabama at No. 5 Indiana
Schlabach: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State