College Football: Here's What Four, Six, Eight and 16 Team Playoffs Would Look Like
By Ty Duffy
The BCS system is a silly way to determine a champion. Fortunately, we’ll be rid of it soon. Unfortunately, it will stick around as a lame duck for the next two seasons. As we debate how nonsense math and unqualified voters will be affected by teams’ performances, here is how some much better systems might decide a champion.
Here is how a four-team, a six-team, an eight-team and a 16-team playoff might play out “if the season ended today. We’ll use the current SRS standings for the rankings.
Four Team Playoff: The four-team playoff will be implemented for 2014 (and probably be supplanted by 2020). Here is how the semifinal bowls would look.
(1) Alabama vs. (4) Notre Dame
(2) Oregon vs. (3) Kansas State
Six-Team Playoff: A six-team playoff is the four-team playoff, but with two play-in games for the lower seeded team. Advantages: two awesome football games and it makes finishing No. 1 or No. 2 matter more. Winning a conference championship matters. We’ll say it’s four conference champions with two at-large teams.
Alabama and Oregon get byes. Kansas State is the third seed. Notre Dame takes one of the at large places at four. Florida takes the next at five. Ohio State is ineligible, so the next highest conference champion would be Florida State. Kansas State and Notre Dame would host their play-in games.
Bye – Alabama (1)
Bye – Oregon (2)
Play-In: Kansas State (3) vs. Florida State
Play-In: Notre Dame (4) vs. Florida
Eight-Team Playoff: This was our favored format. The six highest-rated conference champions and two at large teams. Teams are seeded into four play-in games at home sites. Semifinals are the bowls. This is fair without being too inclusive with obvious result games. It creates close to a true national title, where every team starts the season eligible to win it.
The top six conference champions: Alabama, Oregon, Kansas State, Florida State, Boise State and Nebraska
The two at large teams: Notre Dame, Florida
Alabama – SEC (1) vs. Nebraska – B10 (8)
Oregon – P12 (2) vs. Boise State – MWC (7)
Kansas State – B12 (3) vs. Florida State – ACC (6)
Notre Dame – AL (4) vs. Florida – AL (5)
16-Team Playoff: Wetzel style. 11 conference champions. 5 At-Large Teams. Fair and equitable. A true national champion.
Alabama – SEC (1) vs. Tulsa – CUSA (16)
Oregon – P12 (2) vs. Northern Illinois – MAC (15)
Kansas State – B12 (3) vs. Louisville – BE (14)
Notre Dame – AL (4) vs. Louisiana-Monroe – SB (13)
Florida – AL (5) vs. Utah State – WAC (12)
Oklahoma – AL (6) vs. Nebraska – B10 (11)
Texas A&M – AL (7) vs. Boise State – MWC (10)
South Carolina – AL (8) vs. Florida State – ACC (9)
[Photos via Presswire]