Richard Shiro/Associated Press

College football nirvana is nearly upon us.

As expected after Saturday's conference championship games, Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State and Oklahoma comprise the top four seeds for this year's College Football Playoff.

The Tigers will face the Sooners in the Orange Bowl, while Nick Saban will coach against his old team as the Crimson Tide and Spartans are set for a Cotton Bowl clash in the other national semifinal.

Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee discussed this year's playoff in addition to the playoff structure in general:

With 40 games in a little under a month, you could argue bowl season has swelled to an unhealthy degree. Look no further than the fact that the NCAA had trouble finding 80 bowl-eligible teams as evidence of the problem.

Still, fans aren't complaining about getting to watch more college football. This time of year is a great showcase for not only the best teams in the country, but also those not afforded a national spotlight on a weekly basis.

Here's a full look at this year's bowl schedule.

Bowl Schedule

2015-16 College Football Bowl Schedule Bowl Matchup Date Time (ET) Watch Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T Dec. 19 Noon ABC Cure Bowl San Jose State vs. Georgia State Dec. 19 7 p.m. CBSSN Gildan New Mexico Bowl Arizona vs. New Mexico Dec. 19 2 p.m. ESPN Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl BYU vs. Utah Dec. 19 3:30 p.m. ABC Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Ohio vs. Appalachian State Dec. 19 5:30 p.m. ESPN R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech Dec. 19 9 p.m. ESPN Miami Beach Bowl South Florida vs. Western Kentucky Dec. 21 2:30 p.m. ESPN Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Akron vs. Utah State Dec. 22 3:30 p.m. ESPN Marmot Boca Raton Bowl Temple vs. Toledo Dec. 22 7 p.m. ESPN San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Boise State vs. Northern Illinois Dec. 23 4:30 p.m. ESPN GoDaddy Bowl Bowling Green vs. Georgia Southern Dec. 23 8 p.m. ESPN Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan Dec. 24 Noon ESPN Hawai'i Bowl Cincinnati vs. San Diego State Dec. 24 8 p.m. ESPN St. Petersburg Bowl Marshall vs. Connecticut Dec. 26 11 a.m. ESPN Hyundai Sun Bowl Miami vs. Washington State Dec. 26 2 p.m. CBS Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl Washington vs. Southern Miss Dec. 26 2:20 p.m. ESPN New Era Pinstripe Bowl Duke vs. Indiana Dec. 26 3:30 p.m. ABC Camping World Independence Bowl Virginia Tech vs. Tulsa Dec. 26 5:45 p.m. ESPN Foster Farms Bowl Nebraska vs. UCLA Dec. 26 9:15 p.m. ESPN Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman Pittsburgh vs. Navy Dec. 28 2:30 p.m. ESPN Quick Lane Bowl Central Michigan vs. Minnesota Dec. 28 5 p.m. ESPN2 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Air Force vs. California Dec. 29 2 p.m. ESPN Russell Athletic Bowl North Carolina vs. Baylor Dec. 29 5:30 p.m. ESPN NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl Colorado State vs. Nevada Dec. 29 7:30 p.m. ASN AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl Texas Tech vs. LSU Dec. 29 9 p.m. ESPN Birmingham Bowl Memphis vs. Auburn Dec. 30 Noon ESPN Belk Bowl North Carolina State vs. Mississippi State Dec. 30 3:30 p.m. ESPN Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl Louisville vs. Texas A&M Dec. 30 7 p.m. ESPN Holiday Bowl Wisconsin vs. USC Dec. 30 10:30 p.m. ESPN Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Houston vs. Florida State Dec. 31 Noon ESPN Capital One Orange Bowl No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Oklahoma Dec. 31 4 p.m. ESPN Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Michigan State Dec. 31 8 p.m. ESPN Outback Bowl Northwestern vs. Tennessee Jan. 1 Noon ESPN2 Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl Michigan vs. Florida Jan. 1 1 p.m. ABC Fiesta Bowl Notre Dame vs. Ohio State Jan. 1 1 p.m. ESPN Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual Iowa vs. Stanford Jan. 1 5 p.m. ESPN Allstate Sugar Bowl Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss Jan. 1 8:30 p.m. ESPN TaxSlayer Bowl Georgia vs. Penn State Jan. 2 Noon ESPN AutoZone Liberty Bowl Kansas State vs. Arkansas Jan. 2 3:20 p.m. ESPN Valero Alamo Bowl TCU vs. Oregon Jan. 2 6:45 p.m. ESPN Cactus Bowl West Virginia vs. Arizona State Jan. 2 10:15 p.m. ESPN College Football Playoff National Championship Presented By AT&T Clemson/Oklahoma vs. Alabama/Michigan State Jan. 11 8:30 p.m. ESPN Source: ESPN.com

Players to Watch

Jared Goff, QB, California

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

This will, in all likelihood, be Jared Goff's last game in college. Not only is he considered one of the best quarterbacks in the 2016 draft class, but his current head coach, Sonny Dykes, might be on another sideline in 2016. Dykes interviewed for the opening at Missouri last week, per Yahoo Sports (via ESPN.com's Kyle Bonagura).

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller provided an in-depth scouting report of the California Golden Bears star quarterback in September and drew parallels between Goff and a two-time Super Bowl winner:

Goff is close to perfect as a quarterback prospect, and his flaws are all fixable ones. Like Eli Manning, he has picturesque footwork in the pocket, aggressive downfield vision and the arm to make every throw in the playbook. Goff doesn't turn the ball over at Cal as much as Manning has in the NFL, but from a skills and athleticism perspective, they're very similar.

Since Goff plays the majority of his games on the West Coast, his work over the last three years might have gone unnoticed by a large segment of the college football fanbase. Bowl season could offer him one last chance to impress not only fans but also NFL scouts.

Matt Johnson, QB, Bowling Green

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Matt Johnson, on the other hand, is unlikely to make a significant impact at the next level. That still won't erase the work the Bowling Green quarterback did over his sophomore and senior seasons.

A hip injury wiped out most of Johnson's junior campaign, but he recovered to lead the country in passing yards (4,700) while finishing second in passing touchdowns (43).

Scott Swegan, Bowling Green's assistant director of athletic communications, believes Johnson has left quite an impression on the Falcons' football program:

Part of the beauty of bowl season is getting exposed to players you have otherwise never heard of. Whether or not Bowling Green delivers a victory, Johnson and the Eagles offense should put on a great show for the fans.

Carl Nassib, DE, Penn State

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

The fall of quarterback Christian Hackenberg has been the dominant storyline around Penn State in 2015. But the Nittany Lions wouldn't be bowling without their strong defense, which ranks 16th in Football Outsiders' S&P+ rating.

Few players on that defense have contributed more than Carl Nassib. He's first in the nation with 15.5 sacks and tied for second in the nation with 19.5 tackles for loss. Nassib joined a list of Penn State legends after winning the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year award, per BTN Live:

It's quite a rise for a player who walked on at Penn State and only earned a scholarship ahead of the 2013 season.

Given the Nittany Lions' issues on offense this year, Nassib and the rest of the front seven will likely need to harass quarterback Greyson Lambert to get a win in the TaxSlayer Bowl against Georgia.

Nassib has already earned an invite to the Senior Bowl, and bowl season will be one more opportunity for him to bolster his NFL draft stock.

Jeremy Cash, S, Duke

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Like Nassib, Jeremy Cash is now the owner of his conference's Defensive Player of the Year award after edging Clemson's Shaq Lawson.

"I don't think you can say anything better about an athlete than they were a great teammate," Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said, per Steve Phillips for TheACC.com. "Jeremy became a great teammate when he came here and had to sit out for a year after transferring. That experience taught me a lot about him and how much he cared about his team and his teammates."

Cash is one of the best safeties in the 2016 draft class and is a lock to hear his name in the first few rounds. He did a little bit of everything for the Blue Devils in 2015, as evidenced by his 101 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and four pass breakups.

It's highly probable Cash's strong all-around game will lead to him making at least one or two big plays in his final college appearance.

Playoff Preview

David Goldman/Associated Press

North Carolina and Florida had a chance to create a little upheaval atop the College Football Playoff rankings, but they fell short, and the top four spots remained unchanged with the exception of Michigan State swapping spots with Iowa.

Here's a look at how Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State and Oklahoma stack up against one another:

CFP Teams By the Numbers No. 1 Clemson No. 2 Alabama No. 3 Michigan State No. 4 Oklahoma Record 13-0 12-1 12-1 11-1 Strength of Schedule 42nd 4th 44th 19th Total Offense (YPG) 510.6 (12th) 422.5 (49th) 396.8 (68th) 542.9 (7th) Total Defense (YPG) 295.7 (7th) 258.2 (2nd) 342.9 (26th) 350.7 (31st) S&P+ Offense 41.3 (10th) 36.3 (27th) 36.5 (26th) 43.4 (3rd) S&P+ Defense 15.0 (6th) 7.6 (1st) 18.8 (13th) 18.7 (12th) F/+ Combined Rating 59.0% (2nd) 64.5% (1st) 44.8% (6th) 55.7% (3rd) Sources: NCAA.com, Football Outsiders, Jeff Sagarin

The Tigers and Tide made strong cases for being the most complete team in the country, and they each boast a dynamic playmaker who can carry the load. Running back Derrick Henry is the presumptive Heisman Trophy winner, while Deshaun Watson is among the top quarterbacks in the FBS.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, enters the playoff on a hot streak, having beaten Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State in succession to close out the regular season. Ohio State showed last year how valuable momentum can be in the playoff.

Most fans will likely discount Michigan State's chances. On paper, the Spartans are the weakest team of the four, but their tendency to win ugly could prove valuable in the playoff.

Some fans were a bit surprised Michigan State climbed from fifth to third following its victory over Iowa.

"Ultimately, Michigan State's two wins against Top 10 teams gave them the edge," CFP selection committee chairman Jeff Long said, per Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman.

The selection committee didn't do Michigan State any favors, however. The Spartans may be a higher seed than Oklahoma, but they arguably have the tougher matchup. Although Alabama may not be quite as good as some of Saban's other national-championship-winning teams, the Crimson Tide boast a dominant defense and an above-average-to-great offense depending on how Henry is running the ball.

Clemson vs. Oklahoma could be a national championship game by itself. The Sooners defense will be tested in a big way. Their offense was strong enough to navigate the Big 12, but that might not be enough to get past the Tigers, who are dangerous in their own right.