This is a dumb way to have a championship. It also makes it impossible for a coach at a smaller school to develop a program into nothing more than a new years six participate. It is hard to keep a good up and coming coach at a place with such an arbitrary ceiling.
I knew ND was getting in even though they got their butts handed to them by 24 pts to Clemson yesterday. Regardless please scrap (and expand) the 4 team set up/format we currently have.
This was a year there are only 2 that deserve to be in, sorry tOSU. I will be rooting for ALabama to score 80 on Notre Dame. They beat Clemson in double overtime at home with Clemson missing their best player. Got rolled when he played. ND, do us a favor and opt out. I think we have seen you get your balls kicked in before.
Five Power 5 Conference Champions (provided they are in the Top 12 of the final standings)
Highest-rated Group of Five Champion auto-qualifies if they are in the Top 12
Remaining teams chosen by committee
No more than two per conference
Now that the field is set, how does the playoff itself actually work and how does it mesh with the other bowls?
Those eight teams are locked into New Year's Six bowls on a rotating basis (as they do now with four)
Remaining bowl assignments can proceed as they currently do
Higher-seeded teams host the quarter final game two weeks after CCG weekend
The four teams that lose in the quarter finals will be matched up in two pre-determined New Year's Six bowl games (rotating)
The four teams that win in the quarter finals will move on to two other New Year's Six games as the semi-finals (rotating, as they do now)
Championship game one week later (as it is now)
Bowl structure preserved. Conference championships matter. Group of Five teams have a chance. Doesn't extend the season (time-wise). Bowl season begins and ends with a bang.
You should never ever be allowed in the playoffs in this format unless you've won your conference. Period.
Even in an 8 team format I would still rather see G5 teams over 2 SEC, 2B1G, or 2ACC (sorry Big 12 you suck, and PAC 12 you know your only ever getting 1 in). This committee experiment has been equally as bad as the BCS. It still protects the P5 teams and screws the G5.
What if you tried to keep something similar to the traditional bowl format, and once championship games are done each conference champion plays another
1st round
Rose: B1G vs PAC 12 (because this circle jerk just won't die)
Sugar: SEC vs ACC
Orange: Big 12 vs AAC (probably similar talent now a days)
At Large: bids in the top 8 or 10 with preference to record not conference. Rotate the Fiesta, Peach, and Cotton