Now that the college football season is winding down, the playoff picture is starting to clear up. As it stands, the top four teams (listed in order) are Georgia, Michigan, Texas Christian University (TCU), and the University of Southern California (USC). These standings show the four teams that will be in contention for the national championship game on Jan. 9.

However, these rankings are subject to change, as all the conferences have their championship game this week. As it stands, USC and Georgia would face off, as Georgia is the reigning national champion and USC are the fourth seed. On the other side, Michigan, the number two, prepares to take on TCU, which is the three seed. 

If your favorite college didn’t make the playoffs, don’t worry. The rest of the teams will compete in bowl games. Bowl games are miniature championships themselves. The bowl games consist of the rest of the top 25 teams, or in some cases any Division One program that has won six or more games.

All the bowl games air from Dec. 16 all the way to Jan. 9 when the national championship game is played. All the teams playing in said bowl games will be decided after all the championship games have been played. Here’s a link to all the games’ dates, times, and channels. 

If you don’t really follow college teams, that’s alright because another big college football event is on the horizon; the Heisman trophy. The Heisman trophy is awarded to the best player in college football each year. The criteria to win the trophy isn’t just based on stats alone; it’s a combination of leadership, difference-making, and overall importance to the game of college football.

The top five contenders for the award according to ESPN are as follows: Caleb Williams, quarterback for USC, Max Duggan, quarterback for TCU, C.J. Stroud, quarterback for Ohio State University (OSU), Bijan Robinson running back for Texas University, and Stetson Bennett, quarterback for Georgia. 

It’s been a wild season so far, one of unseen heroes, upsets, and awe, and it looks like the ending will contain just as much of that magic.