I wonder how Delany feels when he figures things like this out. He has to feel a little bit like a douchenozzle I would think.
To me, this kind of signals the beginning of an 8-team playoff, which I am okay with. Have the champions of the 6 major conferences play each other, then have 2 at-large bids who play each other and make it into an awesome freakin' playoff.
The problem with this is, let's say the SEC has the top team in the nation and someone from the Big 12 is second. If these two conferences champions play each other you have eliminated the one of the best teams in the first round of the playoff. A true quality playoff wouldn't commit conferences to play each other but the top teams play by seeding. It would be silly to have an 8 team playoff and #1 and #2 play each other in the first round.
I found it funny that all the press releases brag about how the Big 12 and SEC have been playing for the national championships yet in the new 4 team playoff those teams would not be playing in the Big 12/SEC champions bowl game since they would be in the playoff, what?. It would all but guarantee that is always going to be someone that just lost a conference championship game in that bowl. If I was the Fiesta bowl, I would be very worried right now. No way the SEC will want it there unless it alternates with the Sugar and I can't see them doing that. It also wouldn't surprise me at all if Jerry Jones throws out the bucks and gets in Dallas permanently. It makes the most sense geographically as well.