College football playoff

[mrdv1]

With this whole business of a college football playoff being talked about by Obama and ESPN, I decided to come up with a way it might work. Obviously it's fictional, but I think it's plausible, and wouldn't extend the season. It also allows non conference winners, non BCS conference winners (I call them mid majors in it, not sure if that's politically correct) as well as the automatic bids for the BCS conference winners. It's a 10 team format, and keeps the automatic bids to BCS conference winners. It also allows teams such as utah and boise state, as well as indy's like Notre Dame, to get in and compete. Here's the proposal, tell me what you think...

6 automatic bids to the playoffs given to
Winner of
-SEC
-ACC
-Big East
-Pac 10
-Big 10
-Big 12

2 Conference champions of the following conferences get bids, the 2 are the champs with the highest BCS ranking.
-Mountain West
-WAC
-Conf USA
-Mid American
-Sunbelt

2 playoffs invites go out to the two highest ranked BCS teams that have not already qualified through winning their conference. (This is how a team like Notre Dame, who has no conference as an independent, would get in)

This enables there to be, like now, a BCS selection committee. It is required that every team must have at won at least 80% or 9 of it’s total games, including conference championship games, or they are ineligible. For instance, if Maryland wins the ACC and goes 8 and 4, they would not qualify, because they did not reach 9 wins, and 8 out of 12 games is 66.6% of games won. However, if they went 9 and 3, they would be eligible, even though that is only 75% of their games. Another team may win only 8 games, but their schedule is only 10 games. That’s 80%, and so they are in. The rule keeps teams that cannot compete out, hopefully preventing blowouts.

In the event a BCS conference champion does not qualify due to the previous rule, it comes up to the BCS Selection committee to choose who takes that spot, which is the team with the highest BCS ranking after the other 9 playoff teams. By rule, no conference may have more than two teams in the BCS playoff. For example, If Texas tech wins the Big 12, they are in. Texas, at BCS number three, would get one of the 2 BCS ranking spots. If the ACC winner did not qualify, and Oklahoma was the next highest ranked team in the BCS, they would not be allowed to take the spot of the ACC winner, because it would put 3 teams from the BIG 12 in.


The two teams that receive bids on BCS ranking play for spot in fiesta bowl.

The two Mid Major conference winners play each other for spot in fiesta bowl.

These games are held two weeks before New Years.
Games are all played at neutral sites. Second round on takes place at the Orange bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Rose Bowl.

Teams are paired like so
Rose: Big Ten vs. Pac 10
Orange: ACC vs. Big East
Sugar: SEC vs. Big 12
Fiesta: High BCS winner vs. Mid Major winner

These second round games are played a week before new years

Second round winners play in two of the Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar bowls in semi-finals.

Nat’l title game held a week after new years, in one of the two bowls not used for semifinals.

Bowl rotation goes as follows: Bowl left out of Finals and Semifinals receives national title game the next season. Bowl that was national title game becomes semifinal game. Bowl that has only been a semifinal game for a year remains. Bowl that has been a semifinal game for 2 years is not played in after second round.


*If this system happened this year, this is how the playoffs would look, with the presumed conference winners:
SEC: Florida
ACC: Maryland
Big East: Pittsburgh
Big 10: Penn State
Big 12: Texas Tech
Pac 10: USC
Mid Major Conference Winner: Utah (Mountain West)
Mid Major Conference Winner: Boise State (WAC)
Highest non auto BCS: Texas
Second Highest non auto BCS: Alabama

Round 1:
Nuetral Site: Alabama vs. Texas
Nuetral Site: Boise State vs. Utah

Round 2:
Rose: Penn State vs. USC
Orange: Maryland vs. Pittsburgh
Sugar: Florida vs. Texas Tech
Fiesta: Texas vs. Boise State

Semi Finals:
Rose: USC vs. Texas Tech
Orange: Pittsburgh vs. Texas

Finals:
Sugar: Texas Tech vs. Texas

[cubuffsman78]

The hindrance of a playoff system isn't figuring out how to set it up. It's all about money and tradition. Many conference presidents are close to saying yes to a playoff, except for the Big Ten and Pac-10. Plus, the Rose Bowl wants nothing to do with one. Instead, the Rose Bowl wants to potentially ruin each and every bowl season with its determination to carry on tradition.

I'm actually a bigger fan of the BCS than most. The BCS has provided matchups, such as Texas/USC, we would have never seen without it. It's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction. I'll take it over the old way any day.

As for your system, I'm against a long playoff and when I say long, I mean anything past 8 teams. Honestly, I prefer 4, but if one happens you bring up a good point. Each major conference will demand the opportunity to be represented.

My feeling for an 8 team playoff is to give each major conference a chance at an auto bid, but not a guarantee. I also agree about letting the BCS decide seeding and those who make it. A major conference champion would have to be ranked at least in the Top 15 of the BCS in order to qualify. This keeps dud conferences with weak champions out of the mix. If a conference doesn't qualify its champion, then it's an at-large bid given to the next-best available team in the BCS rankings.

At this point, Pitt and Maryland wouldn't qualify, leaving the ACC and Big East with no representative and I see nothing wrong with this. Here's my problem with a potential playoff in Division I -- I don't want to see the quality of the team's participating drop at all. Only the elite should be involved. Pitt and Maryland aren't the elite. The best part about the BCS is that a team almost has to be perfect to qualify for a chance at the championship. It's made a unique situation in college football and it's a beautiful one.

A compromise between the quality and the quantity can be reached. In my idea, the seeds would come out like this.

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Texas
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma
6. USC
7. Utah
8. Penn State

So it actually falls with the actual Top 8 in the current BCS poll. Sorry Boise State, but I feel no need to include even a highly ranked non-BCS conference squad unless they fall into the playoff via the rankings. Like I said, make it elite. Yes, an argument would be formed about Boise State not being in. Face it, whether it's two teams, four, eight or 10, an argument will be made for who was left out.