I still maintain a 16 team playoff with the champion of all 11 conferences and the 5 next best teams (regardless of conference) making the playoffs with a caveat for conference champions.
I would make a requirement that for a champion to be eligible it would need to meet at least 1 of the following criteria
- 11-1 or better record (no FCS games counted)
- ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS standings
- at least 10 wins (no FCS games counted) and be ranked in the top 32 of the final BCS standings
Thus if you did the playoff this year using my criteria, it would appear that the Sun Belt and Conference USA would not have a representative (though CUSA still has a shot - UCF is 36 and Tulsa is 39, so the winner of the title game could certainly get into the top 32). The Mountain West might not either depending on how they break their tie, but Boise State is well within the top 32 (San Diego St. and Fresno St. are not).
This system seems like the fairest way to do it and because it has access to all conferences also would withstand any sort of governmental challenge. I'd make the first round a home game for the top 8 seeds and then move to neutral sites from there. I would include a midwestern neutral site like say Detroit, Indianapolis, etc. as well as the more traditional bowl game sites of L.A., Phoenix, Dallas, New Orleans, Miami, and Atlanta.
11/14/2012 11:36 AM (edited)