With cries of College Football Playoff expansion growing louder as the season comes to a close next week in New Orleans, take a gander at the 2020 recruiting cycle and you'll notice a harsh reality for teams on the cusp of breakthrough — the nation's top programs are reloading and lack of parity will continue.

Or will it?

Alabama saw its streak of final four appearances end at four this fall and LSU has a chance to win its first national title in the Playoff era on Monday. Should we expect Alabama to get back to its elite status without Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback or perhaps another first-time entry?

“I’m looking forward to it," Tagovailoa said Monday of the upcoming quarterback battle between Mac Jones, Bryce Young and his brother, Taulia. "They’ve got another guy coming in in Bryce Young. He looked really good at his All-American game. I mean, if you love competition, now’s the best time for it, you know, for Mac Jones, for my little brother and for Bryce Young, the incoming freshman.”

Three New Year's Six games have specific tie-ins when they're not hosting the College Football Playoff — the Rose, Sugar and Orange. Two of those bowls are in fact semifinal games next season, meaning we'll have the rare treat of several sexy matchups independent of predetermined conference involvement.

Here's a way-too-early look at next season's potential New Year's Six matchups, including a first-time participant in the College Football Playoff:

Cotton Bowl (Dec. 30, 2020) Projected matchup: Boise State vs. Oklahoma How we'll get there: Go ahead and put Tom Herman's Longhorns here if the Sooners lose Lincoln Riley to an NFL job, but that seems unlikely now that the Dallas Cowboys have reportedly made their move in the post-Jason Garrett era. Riley is 0-3 in Playoff games coming off the embarrassing 63-28 loss to LSU and will try and take a fourth different quarterback to the dance in Spencer Rattler — unless Oklahoma taps the transfer portal. The Sooners bring back all five offensive linemen, by the way. Meanwhile, after a 12-win campaign and some of its bulk returning, Boise State is in great shape to be the Group of 5's highest-ranked team under Bryan Harsin next fall as long as the Broncos beat Florida State early.

Peach Bowl (Jan. 1, 2021) Projected matchup: Georgia vs. Penn State How we'll get there: Jake Fromm or not, the Bulldogs will have three games to worry about in 2020 and barring a South Carolina-like collapse, will be double-digit favorites and should win all the others handily during the regular season. The September showdown at Alabama pushes one of those two SEC titans to the driver's seat in the national title race, but it's too early to worry about a loss for either damaging final four hopes. Penn State is here due to schedule favorability. The Nittany Lions get Ohio State at home and play Iowa after an open week. Their October road game at Michigan could be a challenge.

Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 2, 2021) Projected matchup: LSU vs. Oregon How we'll get there: What's in store for LSU's encore and who will play quarterback? The Tigers feel good about their quarterback room with Myles Brennan expected to be the guy in 2020, but they won't be afraid to go after a guy like Jamie Newman or potentially D'Eriq King in the transfer portal either. We'll project 10 wins with losses to Alabama and Florida, which would slot Ed Orgeron's team somewhere in the New Year's Six. Picking the Pac-12's NY6 rep is a shot in the dark, but the Ducks will have the best roster on the West Coast.

Orange Bowl (Jan. 2, 2021) Projected matchup: North Carolina vs. Notre Dame How we'll get there: Seven different teams have won the ACC Coastal over the past seven seasons, so don't expect Virginia to repeat in 2020. That brings Tar Heels signal caller Sam Howell to the forefront in his second season after a masterful freshman campaign. He set a record for touchdown passes as a true freshman and helped a relatively young roster win seven games in Mack Brown's first campaign. North Carolina gets early-season opportunities vs. UCF and Auburn to jump inside the Top 25 and stay there throughout vs. a soft ACC slate. The Tar Heels miss Florida State from the Atlantic and won't have to play Clemson until the league final. Notre Dame, with Ian Book back, could battle Florida with a matching 11-1 record for that fourth Playoff seed.

Rose Bowl (CFB Playoff semifinal, Jan. 1, 2021) Projected matchup: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Florida How we'll get there: It's a bit hazy, sure, but there is a justifiable path to the Playoff for Dan Mullen in Year 3 with the Gators. Let's say Florida finishes 11-1 during the regular season with its only loss coming to Georgia in Jacksonville — which would include a Top 10 win over LSU in Gainesville. Georgia finishes 11-1 with a loss to Alabama, thus wins the East with the tiebreaker. Then, the Crimson Tide beat the Bulldogs again in Atlanta, ensuring Florida is the SEC's second-most attractive option for the Playoff committee. Hmm. Keep an eye on Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, who will surge to the front of the Heisman race. The other team here is chalk. Ohio State should field the most talented team nationally next fall with Justin Fields back and a host of playmakers around him.

Sugar Bowl (CFB Playoff Semifinal, Jan. 1, 2021) Projected matchup: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Alabama How we'll get there: You didn't think the Crimson Tide would miss the final four for a second consecutive season, did you? Ironically, we could see a repeat of Alabama's 2017 path to the Playoff, perhaps Mac Jones starting much of the season before giving way to heralded five-star freshman Bryce Young. Taulia Tagovailoa feels like the odd man out here. With alpha linebackers Dylan Moses and Josh McMillon back, Alabama's defense should be fixed. But don't forget — entering Monday night's national championship game, the No. 3 seed in the final four has never won it all, so Clemson will try and break that curse this year prior to Alabama's possible opportunity 12 months from now. Speaking of the Tigers, Trevor Lawrence as a junior should be the preseason Heisman frontrunner along with Fields.