GatorNation

Thanks guys for your comments. I agree that having a cinderella team or two would be great.

I think the one reason why this format has a chance is because the majority of hte playoffs take place before the bowls. So team that lose in the first two rounds of the playoffs can still accept their bowl invitations. The only two teams that would have to adjust their schedule would be the two teams in the final.

Great thought, and I believe this is where college football may be headed in the future.  The way I read your post is that teams would be ranked by the polls.  The NCAA could keep the BCS and seed teams by the BCS rankings.  That way, this system could be enacted in any given year without violating BCS contracts.  I also have one different addition.  There should only be one at-large berth.  The other would be to have the highest rated non-BCS conference champion.  That way, we would have the potential of having a Boise St. every year.  Probably the major reason the NCAA Men's basketball tournament is regarded by many as the best sporting event in sports is the fact that there are cinderellas and upsets.  This would be on a much smaller scale with only one potential cinderella team.  Otherwise, I agree with you completely.

I like your ideas!

There will be no non-BCS schools elligible?  That would piss off Urban's Utah, among others.  Expanding it to 12 or 16 like you suggested would be a little better.

BTW, do travelling NIT teams get compensated for travel, etc?  Just curious?

I know people bitch, and not many teams have back ups like Newton and what's his butt (who's supposed to be better), but 11 games in 13 weeks and then a grueling play post season will be brutal to a team with injuries.  However, I wouldn't have to hear OSU fans bitch about QB's gaining weight and players being less sharp because they don't have a conference championship.

Go Gators

Good post but I would do it slightly different.  First off, I don't want to see teams like the 2006 Demon Deacons who was ranked something like 16th in the country before they got beat in their bowl game playing in an 8 team playoff.  I think it makes the regular season more important if you take the top 8 teams in the country, regardless of conference affiliation.  Some conferences are a lot easier to navigate through than others and if their are 3 teams from one conference I would have no problem with it if they deserved their ranking.  Second, I have 1 play 8, 2-7 and so on all at neutral sites.  The sites for the first round can change every year and we can get the stock of older bowls who have lost some luster back up like the Cotton and the Sun bowl.  No one needs home games.  It is fair enough that the top team will play the worst team left.  And I would re-seed after every round.  That round would be in the middle of December.  The second round would be our tipical BCS bowls.  The 2 winners of the first round games would meet in say the Fiesta and Orange and the losers would play in the rose and sugar.  Next year the sites would switch and the Rose and Sugar would get the winners.  Then 2 weeks later we play the championship game which gives the bowls a chance to sell tickets.

No one from outside the Magnificent 6, would ever really have a shot. For example, and I agree that Hawaii was overrated this year, but, hypothetically, when that scenario happens as it did with Utah in 04, Boise State last year and Hawaii this year, they would not get a chance to get in with only two "at large bids." Therefore no one from the mini 5 would ever really have a fair shot. I could make a real strong case for Utah in 04 being one of the top 2-3 teams in the nation and Boise St. being at least top 4 last year. I would include Auburn in 04 but under your scenario they would have been in due to SEC championship. As many people speculated that Hawaii was overrated, but no one really knew for sure until the Georgia game. And let's be truly honest with each other, the way Georgia played in that game there are only three maybe four teams in the country that could have hung with them.

So like I said your scenario is boat loads better than current system, however, until all conference champs (11) and 5 "at large" being the next highest rated non-conf. champs including independents, if any, are included in the playoffs, college football will continue to be an elitist, exclusionary organization that is blast to watch and fight about, but is really a fraud when it comes to the phrase "National Champion"

To pull off the 16 team tourney is simple:

16 team playoff.

11 conference winners plus 5 highest ranked that did not win conference or are independent.

Use 15 of the current bowl games for the playoffs.

Drop one regular season game so that only 2 teams end up with 15 games. D1AA- D2 and D3 have all done this for ever so don't pull the "it's too many games card." Ask Georgia and USC and about four other teams if they would play an extra two games this year!

Begin playoffs first week of December and the N.C. game ends up on or before where it is this year.

A true undisputed National Champion in College football imagine that!

The other 17 bowls would still be used to reward the best of the rest for a great season.

If you run this formula over the last 20 years there is no one that would not be included that was making a case for a national champ birth! I you find one please let me know.

Good blog and great plan I just think the train station is a little further down the track.