Imagine there was a college football playoff...Round 1

I actually like the bowl system. I like the idea of teams like Navy and Vanderbilt having the opportunity to play in the post-season. The system I want is a four-team playoff plus the bowls, but what if we did have a 16-team playoff? I know a lot of people want this.

How would it play out? What kind of matchups would we see?

Move ahead to the end of the 2009 season, and our 16-team playoff. We'll say the BCS or some other system ranks the teams No. 1 through 16.

Don't worry about logistics of stadium availability or scheduling conflicts. Higher Seed gets a home game, except for the Championship, which is at some neutral site. Now let's just play the games!

Check out Round 2.

Check out Round 3 and Championship.

No. 1 Florida Gators vs No. 16 Utah Utes

SEC Champions the Florida Gators come in with a 12-1 record. Their only loss was October 10 at LSU 31-27, when Les Miles ran two fake punts inside his 40-yard line. Tim Tebow states after the game, "won't lose again this season."

Utah is 11-1, losing only at Oregon 38-34.

The Utes are no stranger to beating SEC teams and stun the Gators early to go up 14-0. Utah defensive ends Derrick Shelby and Koa Misi have a sack each on Tebow in the first quarter. Utah quarterback Corbin Louks has thrown and run for touchdown.

The Gators No. 2 ranked defense begins to settle in and Tebow starts taking over. The Gators go into the half up 24-14.

The Utes fight gamely in the second half, but the Gator defense is just too much. Gator Cornerback Joe Haden picks off two of Louks's passes, and Florida goes on to a 37-21 victory.

No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners vs No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels

Through some weird conference tiebreaker the Sooners again lose to the Longhorns, but still win the Big 12 South, then destroy the Nebraska Cornhuskers 44-21 in the Big 12 championship game.

Ole Miss has had a fine season, but an upset loss to Auburn and a late loss to LSU cost them an appearance in the SEC Championship game. They still finish the season 10-2.

The game in Norman looks like it will be a shootout and it is. Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead throws five touchdown passes and has 343 in the air. It's a great game for Snead indeed, but Sam Bradford throws six touchdowns and has 411 yards passing. Sooner running back Demarco Murrey rushes for 101 yards and catches one of Bradford's TDs.
The teams together total over 1000 yards of offense, but the Sooners prevail 48-37 and move on.

No. 3 USC Trojans vs No. 14 Virginia Tech Hokies

The USC Trojans win another Pac-10 title, but lose another inexplicable game. A 24-20 four turnover fiasco at Arizona St.

The Hokies manage to hold a season together even after the ACL injury of RB Darren Evans before the season starts. The Hokies win their final five games after 27-21 loss to Georgia Tech October 17, to finish the season 10-2. The other loss was a 30-17 game to Alabama.

The Hokies defense keeps them in the game for while, as DE Jason Worilds is all over the field, but Hokie Quarterback Tyrod Taylor can't move the ball on the Trojans. All-American USC Safety Taylor Mays picks Taylor off in the second quarter and returns it for a touchdown.

The Trojans never look back and cruise to 27-10.

No. 4 Texas Longhorns vs No. 13 California Bears

Texas can thank a 37-34 loss to Oklahoma St for costing them an appearance in the Big 12 title game. It's their only loss, and other than the 38-31 win over the Sooners don't win a game by fewer than 17 points against any opponent the rest of the year.

The California Bears feature one of the nation's best running backs in Jahvid Best, who just finished the season rushing for 1,832 yards and 17 touchdowns. Back-to-back losses to Oregon and USC are the Bears only blemishes on a 10-2 regular season.

Against the Longhorns Best runs for 155 yards and 2 TDs, but the Bears defense can't slow Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy and WR Jordan Shipley from hooking up for three touchdowns.

The Longhorns are never in real danger of losing the game and get the victory 34 - 20.

No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes vs No. 12 Boise St. Broncos

The Buckeyes lose only one game this season, on Nov. 7 at Penn St 17-10. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor has been a highlight reel all season, and Buckeye fans are looking for a deep run in the playoffs.

Bronco faithful are irate after going 13-0 and failing to draw a home game for the 16-team playoff. Boise St. coach Chris Peterson goes on ESPN and claims the current playoff system needs to be modified. An uproar begins the week leading up to the game.

The high-powered Bronco offense is just not something the Buckeyes have seen much of in the Big 10, and they fall behind 10-0 five minutes into the game.

Bronco quarterback Kellen Moore is on fire going 17 for his first 19 passes with 2 touchdowns, and Ohio State is down 17-3 at the half.

The Broncos put up ten more points to go up 27-3 going into the 4th quarter. Pryor leads a furious Buckeye rally, but fall short 27-24, when the Buckeye fumble the ball at mid-field. Cinderella baby!

No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide vs No. 11 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

A throw back to an old SEC matchup, Alabama 11-2 and SEC West Champions are ready to make a run at the title.

Georgia Tech is your ACC Champions at 12-1. Their only loss was at FSU. The Jackets got their revenge beating the Noles in the ACC Championship, which also knocked Florida State out of the playoffs.

The Jackets are forced to go the pass early as massive Alabama nose tackle Terrance Cody is stuffing anything that comes his away. With the inside gone, Alabama's corners don't bite on the inside handoff, and the Jackets struggle to only 71 yards rushing in the first half.

The Tides offensive line gradually wears down Tech's defensive line, and even though Tech QB Josh Nesbitt throws one touchdown to Demaryius Thomas and another to RB Jonathan Dwyer, the Jackets lose 24-17 in the most physical game of the first round.

No. 7 Penn St. Nittany Lions vs No. 10 LSU Tigers

Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions are still smarting after a late season loss to Michigan St. cost them the overall No. 1 seed. The Lions are still pleased that one loss doesn't cost them a shot at the national title.

The LSU Tigers had a great year. They go 10-2. The Tigers started the season 8-0 and get to No. 2 in the nation before losing 20-14 at Alabama. Bobby Petrino and Arkansas continue their weird voodoo over LSU, and pull off the huge upset in Baton Rouge 28-27. There are grumblings in Louisiana that Les Miles is letting the season get away.

Penn St. plays the best game of any of the non top four teams. RB Evan Royster has 123 yards rushing and two TDs. Quarterback Daryll Clark throws for one more. The Lions win going away 27-13.

You've never seen fans of a 10-3 team so mad...

No. 8 Oklahoma State Cowboys vs No. 9 Oregon Ducks

The Cowboys had one of college football's most prolific offenses in 2009. With losses only to Texas and Oklahoma, OSU enters this game with Oregon 10-2, as 13 point favorites.

Oregon has exceeded expectations and put together a very solid season, that included wins over Utah and California, and losses only to USC and Boise St.

Throughout the season Cowboy quarterback Zac Robinson and WR Dez Bryant formed the most lethal pass catching combination in the country, totalling 23 touchdown connections.

In the second quarter Zac Robinson is knocked out of the game, forcing the Cowboys to go with backup Brandon Weeden, whose lack of game experience shows.

Oregon has a pretty prolific offense themselves. LeGarrette Blount slices the Cowboy defense up for 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The Ducks pull the upset 31-24 and advance.