Creating a 64-Team Bracket for the 2015 NCAA Football Season

Imagine, if you will, a college football postseason spanning across six magnificent weeks and featuring 64 teams.

Productivity would plummet. Holidays would be left in shambles. Televisions would be exhausted. Relationships would be tested. It would be beautiful madness.

Round 1 would feature 32 games alone. It would take place sometime in the heart of December and be the greatest weekend on the sporting calendar. From there, the tournament would hover right on by Christmas, carry us through New Year’s Eve and conclude sometime in late January.

A national champion would then be crowned—the last team standing. Oh, it would be extraordinary.

This dream, of course, is only that. No, college football is not getting a 64-team playoff. Not next week, not next year, not next century. It will expand beyond four teams at some point, but not to this level of gluttony.

However, as college basketball recharges its bracket batteries for another year—a postseason structure that is equal parts perfect and insane—one can’t help but ponder what this madness might look like in the football realm.

Over the past four years, I have put this hypothetical picture on paper with a 64-team postseason. I have done so because of tradition. I have done so because the offseason does strange things to us all.

A few important notes, starting with the most important: The bracket is seeded based on last year’s results. This is where most of the commenters have gone astray in the past. The anger will flow regardless.

It’s perfectly fine to detest the work of the committee (me), but at least understand precisely what you hate.

In order to complete the seeding, I used a combination of factors: final poll position, overall record, bowl performance and general momentum heading into the end of the year. To cap it off, I incorporated a solid serving of the eye test. This ingredient is usually where we go our separate ways.

With that information out in the open, let's embrace the hypothetical madness. Here are the four regions.

Image via BR

The most delightful tailgate of the entire tournament will come out of the Midwest. When fifth-seeded LSU takes on 12th-seeded West Virginia, the pregame festivities will be seen from outer space.

There will be delectable cuisine. There will be loud voices. There will be fires—most of which will hopefully be controlled. There will be alcohol poured in bottles without labels. It will be one of the most amazing game-day experiences ever concocted. Stay safe, all.

The sexiest No. 2 vs. No. 15 matchup is also housed here, which is a wonderful way to market a region, I suppose. Michigan State, fresh off its Alabama demolition, still gets plenty of respect as a No. 2 seed. The Spartans will draw Auburn in a matchup that is fascinating on paper if nothing else.

Leading this bracket is Clemson, the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. The Tigers take on No. 16 Arizona State—not something I thought I’d write before last fall began—followed by the winner of Appalachian State-Georgia Southern.

Not enough people will watch as Appalachian State-Georgia Southern touch gloves, which is a shame. That’s a glorious little game. Plan accordingly.

Although things took a turn for the worse late in the year, Iowa still hangs on to a No. 3 seed. The Hawkeyes draw No. 14 Washington in Round 1—a pesky underdog that could give them a game. The winner there will take on the winner of No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Louisiana Tech.

For a reminder of how Iowa fared last time they played Tennessee, please see this GIF.

Image via BR

Here’s some insider bracket knowledge: Texas Tech was the last team to earn a spot in the top 64, edging out a slew of other programs with comparable resumes. Kliff Kingsbury’s reward for making it to this next phase is a matchup with No. 1 seed Stanford.

The committee takes no prisoners here. After all, the nation’s No. 127 rushing defense will go up against Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey, one of the most diabolical running backs in the nation. It will do so after it was steamrolled by LSU running back Leonard Fournette in the previous game.

Please keep your children away from this game. They don’t need to see this.

TCU is the second seed in the region following its thrilling bowl win over Oregon. The Frogs will draw Northern Illinois and then the winner of Boise State-Washington State—a game that is destined to get weird early and stay weird throughout.

The Fighting Irish, despite an avalanche of injuries and a bowl loss to Ohio State, are the No. 3 seed. Brian Kelly’s team will play Western Michigan. The winner of this game will then play No. 6 Wisconsin or No. 11 BYU.

And perhaps my favorite game of Round 1 in this region is San Diego State—winners of their final 10 games—taking on Memphis in the 8-9 game. There will be points. And don’t go sleeping on San Diego State. The Aztecs can hang with just about anybody in this region.

Image via BR

Just imagine the magnitude of a Jim Harbaugh-Nick Saban game for a spot in the Elite Eight. The ratings for such a telecast would be Super Bowl-esque. The postgame handshake would be a frigid, facial-expression buffet. It would be a national holiday.

In my world, this is all possible. Alabama, the No. 1 seed in the South (and the No. 1 seed in the tournament) plays North Carolina State in Round 1.

A victory there could guarantee a game against Georgia in the next round, which would generate some rather substantial ratings as well. Kirby Smart might coach against his protege in an Alabama polo.

Houston is the No. 2 seed overall in the South, which may seem strange to some. It shouldn’t. In fact, coming off a bowl victory over Florida State, giving the Cougars this seed was an easy decision. They’ll open with Penn State before drawing the winner of Louisville-Florida.

If BCS rematches are your thing, then look no further than No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech—a 2012 Sugar Bowl replay. And yes, because it can’t be stated enough, look again at the potential Elite Eight game and just buy tickets. It doesn’t matter that it’s not real—go get them!

As for a game that would ultimately last seven hours and feature roughly 57 touchdowns, look no further than No. 6 Western Kentucky vs. No. 11 Cal. With two of the nation’s most punishing offenses and two defenses that are certifiably “meh” on a good day, this could be fun.

Image via BR

Ohio State may have missed out on a playoff spot, but the Buckeyes are proud owners of a No. 1 seed in a tournament that will never happen. I am sure Urban Meyer is thrilled.

Also, to the soon-to-be 478 or so former Buckeyes headed to the upcoming NFL draft from this year’s squad, please come back and play college football for free a little longer. Pretty, pretty please?

The Buckeyes will open with Cincinnati in an all-Ohio showdown in Round 1, followed by the winner of Temple-Arkansas in the next round. While Meyer-Bielema might not have the same matchup power of Saban-Harbaugh, these former Big Ten buddies—note: not actual buddies—would make for quality watching.

Oklahoma, after faltering late in the year, is the No. 2 seed overall in the East. The Sooners will draw Duke and then the winner of Northwestern-Bowling Green, a delightful little 10-7 matchup to get things going.

Ole Miss vs. Miami is about as interesting as a bracket gets when it comes to a three seed taking on a 14 seed. The winner of this game draws Mississippi State or South Florida—the trendy No. 11 seed that bracket hipsters will peg to win more than one game.

And Florida State, fresh off a loss to Houston, still holds down a four seed here. The Seminoles will get Arkansas State, followed by the winner of Utah-Marshall.

This is the bracket in its entirety. The winner, of course, will never be known. The idea that 64 teams could ever play one another in a college football season remains preposterous.

See you again next year.