Division I-A College Football Playoff Bracket

I would like to see a simple 16 team playoff system in college football.

There are 11 conferences in Division I-A. Each team that wins its conference earns an automatic bid to the 16-team tournament. You know why the college basketball tournament is so successful? Because every team has a chance to make it to the Big Dance, and every team has a chance to win it all. So, if Hawaii wins the WAC, they have just as much right to play in the tournament as the winner of the Big 12. The BCS standings will be used to determine the seeds and select the final five at-large teams. First-round games will be played at the higher-seeded school, then the rest of the games at bowl sites, which will bid each year to host one of the match-ups.

Or if we use the current BCS system along with a playoff then we could just pair up the top sixteen teams as I have illustrated below. Notice that the BCS bowls are still played! A clear first, second, and third place team could be crowned.

The top sixteen teams could play the first week of December.
The winning eight could play the second week of December.
The final four could play the third week of December.
The losers of the final four could play New Year's Day for third place.
The Championship game could be played the first Saturday of January (unless it is New Year's Day).


Someone may complain, "The regular season won't mean as much." But in reality the regular season would mean more. The battle in the conferences would be huge -- you win the conference, you are in the playoff. If you lose a game, you really have to work to get one of the coveted at-large spots. Look at what happened this year with Kansas and Missouri -- please tell me how the season meant anything this year!

Now from what I know of the playoff debate, it is the Rose Bowl officials that are the real hold-outs. Their pick of Illinois over Georgia this year is proof enough that they do not care about the fans of college football. And Mizzou not even getting a BCS bowl is ashame; so much good football will never be enjoyed because the suits don't really love the game as much the rest of us. Could you imagine a team like Georgia fighting their way to the championship or Hawaii getting a chance to prove they can play with the big boys all the way to the top? Or how about Auburn who did not get to go to the "Ship" a few years ago even though they were an undefeated SEC team?

I know some say that the season is the playoff -- just win and you are in. Really? What about Auburn and Utah in '04? What about Hawaii this year? What about Boise State last year? What about USC claiming half of the title in '03? Virginia Tech is
not the same team today as they were on the first day of the season when LSU beat them by 41 points. USC is not the same team as the one who lost to Stanford. Arkansas is now healthy with McFadden playing like a Heisman. Florida being led by Tebow can win on any given Saturday.

Just think about it. We could see the match-ups that we really care about. No weeks are added to the season. The bowls could still be played; the bowl money would still be made.