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So much has changed in the world of college football during the past couple of years.
The addition of name, image and likeness money has helped to transform the game, as has the transfer portal. Not only are players now compensated beyond the traditional scholarship, but if they feel a school no longer is the right fit, they are able to look elsewhere and find a new place to play -- without having to wait or lose any eligibility.
Then there has been conference realignment, which has turned decades and decades of tradition on its head. For example, many fans can remember when a game between Ohio State and USC or UCLA would have been a rarity, most likely reserved for a showdown in the Rose Bowl. That matchup is now a regular-season meeting in the Big Ten.
It's the same with West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers and Colorado? Just another Big 12 contest. The Panthers and Southern Methodist University? Nothing more than a battle in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
This year's biggest change, though, is the expansion of the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12. That addition means the bowl season will look different. Area fans certainly will have added interest in the playoff's opening round: Notre Dame will host Indiana at 8 p.m. Friday, Penn State will host SMU at noon Saturday and Ohio State will host Tennessee at 8 p.m. Saturday.
In between the Penn State and Ohio State games will come the other opening-round game in the playoffs -- Clemson at Texas at 4 p.m.
A bigger playoff also means that the traditional bowl schedule will look a little different. Bowl season for our area teams actually began Tuesday, when WVU suffered a 42-37 loss to Memphis in the Frisco Bowl.
At noon on Friday, Ohio University will take on Jacksonville State in the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Fla. And, at 2 p.m. Dec. 26, Pitt will face Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit.
With the playoff games being incorporated into the bowl system, an Ohio State win would mean the Buckeyes would advance to take on Oregon in the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. Jan. 1. If that comes about, it not only would be a rematch -- Ohio State suffered a 32-21 loss to the Ducks on Oct. 12 -- but it would have the feel of a traditional clash in the Granddaddy of Them All, a showdown between a former member of the old PAC-12 and a member of the Big Ten, even though Oregon is now a member of the Big Ten.
All of the playoff action, sprinkled among the traditional bowl games, will lead up to the championship game, set for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
There was a time when the biggest games of the college football season would be played on New Year's Day, which also was the biggest day of the year for watching the sport.
That's no longer the case --the playoff games will attract most of the interest during the next several weeks, and, thanks to broadcast and cable TV and streaming services, the average college football fan has access to dozens of games every week.
Bowl season always has been a special time for fans of the sport. Though many things have changed, that's still the case.
Sit back and enjoy the games.