It's both remarkable and saddening how fast this high school football season has flown by. There's only six weeks left (sigh). It will be Thanksgiving before you know it, so grab that frozen turkey now before it's too late.

It's also time, then, to start thinking about the CIAC playoffs, and the best place to start is the Class M division because Ledyard and New London are both very much in the race.

Ledyard (6-0) is ranked second behind fellow unbeaten Brookfield. Only two of its final five games are against winning teams, and the Colonels play them in succession — Windham (6-0) on Halloween, and New London (5-1) on Nov. 7.

The Colonels' other three opponents are a combined 3-15 — Killingly (Friday), East Lyme (Nov. 14), and winless Fitch (Thanksgiving Day).

The Whalers are ranked sixth and have four games remaining. Their Thankgiving Day rival, Norwich Free Academy (3-2), is the only team other than Ledyard they will play with a winning record. New London plays host to Fitch on Friday and Killingly on Nov. 14.

Chances are that Ledyard and New London won't see each other in the playoffs, though, as each of the four playoff divisions will be split in half based on enrollment.

Please pay attention as the following gets confusing.

The CIAC's football committee, on short notice, had to alter the football playoff schedule last January on the strong urging of both the CIAC and the Connecticut State Medical Society.

The previous playoff system had teams playing the quarterfinals and semifinals on the Tuesday and Saturday, respectively, after Thanksgiving. The finals were held the following weekend.

Most teams that reached the finals did so after playing three games in 10 days. Other teams, such as Ansonia and New Canaan, were also playing conference title games the week before Thanksgiving. It resulted in both teams playing 15 games in 14 weeks due to the calender allowing for an 11-game schedule instead of the usual 10 weeks of play.

This year's playoff system eliminates quarterfinals. The higher-ranked team will play host to a semifinal on Saturday, Dec. 6.

The finals will be held on Friday, Dec. 12 and Saturday, Dec. 13, at sites and times to be determined.

The elimination of quarterfinals would've resulted in 16 teams making the playoffs instead of 32. The CIAC football committee didn't want participation cut in half, so it came up with a solution. Eight teams will still qualify from each of the four divisions. The eight teams, however, will be split in half by enrollment. The four biggest programs will be in one division, and the four smallest programs in the other.

New London has 506 students based on its enrollment of boys in the 2013-14 school year. There are only five teams bigger than the Whalers in Class M, so it's almost a certainty they would be in the Class M-Large should they qualify.

Ledyard has 434 boys, making it the 10th smallest team out of the division's 35 schools.

Five of those nine schools that are smaller than the Colonels have no more than one win. Odds are, then, that Ledyard will be in Class M-Small.

Yes, it all sounds very confusing, but it's really not. Honest.

Back to Ledyard and New London — Class M has had more three-loss teams qualify than any of the other four divisions.

So Ledyard and New London wouldn't necessarily be in dire straits even by losing a few games.

Class LL: NFA's chances at a third-straight playoff berth were all but quashed after its 27-24 loss to Griswold on Oct. 10. The Wildcats are ranked 14th, and they only have nine games, unlike the 11-game schedule that most teams play. Having two losses in nine games is akin to having three losses in an 11-game season.

Class S: Valley Regional/Old Lyme (6-0) is third and just one of four unbeaten teams in a division where anything more than one loss could mean doom. It's playoff hopes will be determined over the next four games as it plays at unbeaten Coginchaug (6-0) this Saturday, vs. Morgan (5-1) on Halloween, at Avon (4-2) on Nov. 8, and vs. Hyde (3-3) on Nov. 14.

Montville (4-2) has already passed the two-loss threshold and is rated 14th and must win out. A whole lot is riding on its home game this Friday against NFA as its final four opponents have two losses or less.

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED