College Football: What a 24-Team, NFL-Style Playoff Would Look Like

After nine weeks of college football, we still have seven undefeated teams left. And if more than two of these teams finish the season undefeated, a team that has won every single game it has played will not have a chance to play for the national title. This is such a travesty...but it need not be.

The current format for deciding a national champion is so biased and unfair that it might end up losing an anti-trust lawsuit. Barack Obama even said he wanted to "throw his weight around a little bit," and publicly called for a college football playoff.

Some say we need a plus-one; others argue for an eight-team playoff; and some want 16 teams in.

In the current format, the winner of the SEC championship game will likely play Texas for a national title. Every one else has to hope for an upset, or they'll be on the outside looking in at our current two-team college football "playoff."

But then again, these teams do NOT deserve to play for a championship!

Sorry TCU , you may very well be the best team in the country, but your conference isn't on ESPN, so you don't deserve a chance.

Sorry Boise State , even though you beat Oregon, one of the best teams in college football in Week One, and look likely to run the table, you don't have enough tradition and you play in an awful conference.

Sorry Cincinnati , your preseason ranking wasn't high enough, therefore you clearly are not good enough to be in the championship game.

Sorry Iowa , you've had a lot of close calls, everyone knows that good teams don't have close games! They dominate people!

Sorry everyone else , you lost one game and therefore are undeserving of any chance at a national championship.

But there is still hope! (At least in a hypothetical universe where children don't go hungry and we get a college football playoff!)

I propose a 24-team playoff.

One where all 11 conference champions get automatic bids. One where the 13 best remaining teams also get in. We let the voters decide on who gets in and let a committee seed the teams, just like the NCAA basketball tournament.

Now, this year, what would it look like?

You'd have the top eight seeds all with first-round byes. You would have teams 9-24 face off for a chance to play against those top eight seeds.

This could work masterfully!

If it happened this year, it might look something like this! (These are based on my win/loss projections for the rest of the year, so obviously it's gonna be off...)

Top eight seeds (get byes)

1. Florida (SEC) 13-0

2. Texas (Big 12) 13-0

3. TCU (Mountain West) 12-0

4. Iowa (Big 10) 12-0

5. Cincinnati (Big East) 12-0

6. Boise State (WAC) 12-0

7. Oregon (Pac-10) 11-1

8. Georgia Tech (ACC) 11-1

First Round Matchups

9. Alabama (At-large) 12-1

vs.

24. Troy (Sun Belt) 10-2

10. Penn State (At-large) 11-1

vs.

23. Central Michigan (MAC) 11-2

11. Houston (C-USA) 12-1

vs.

22. BYU (At-large) 10-2

12. LSU (At-large) 10-2

vs.

21. Rutgers (At-large) 10-2

13. Miami (At-large) 10-2

vs.

20. Notre Dame (At-large) 9-3

14. USC (At-large) 10-2

vs.

19. Wisconsin (At-large) 10-2

15. California (At-large) 10-2

vs.

18. Virginia Tech (At-large) 9-3

16. Oklahoma (At-large) 9-3

vs.

17. Pittsburgh (At-large) 10-2

Then, the winner of each of these matchups would play at one of the top eight seeds.

Sweet Sixteen

1. Florida 

vs.

16. Oklahoma

2. Texas

vs.

15. California

3. TCU

vs.

14. USC

4. Iowa

vs.

13. Miami

5. Cincinnati

vs.

12. LSU

6. Boise State

vs.

11. Houston 

7. Oregon

vs.

10. Penn State 

8. Georgia Tech

vs.

9. Alabama

Elite Eight

1. Florida

vs.

8. Georgia Tech

2. Texas

vs.

7. Oregon

3. TCU

vs.

6. Boise State

13. Miami

vs.

12. LSU

Final Four

1. Florida

vs.

13. Miami

7. Oregon

vs.

3. TCU

National Championship

1. Florida

vs.

3. TCU

National Champion

TCU

Can you imagine how awesome this system could be? It would be just as (or more) exciting than the NCAA basketball tournament. Everyone would fill out brackets!

It could generate more money for college football than the bowls ever did.

Can you imagine the upsets, the excitement?

Most importantly, everyone in NCAA FCS football would have a chance. And no undefeated teams could ever be left out.

Now, the regular season would become less meaningful for some teams, certainly. The Florida-Alabama SEC championship game (if it happens) would only be a battle for a first round bye and the No. 1 seed, not a battle for a title shot. But for teams in the 10-30 range, the college football season would be much more meaningful.

Also, the conference title races would become much more compelling. And more fans would be actively involved, because their teams would still have a shot.

This article was pretty much a response to an article by Lou Vozza, entitled:

Top 10 Dumb Reasons for a College Football Playoff

I want everyone to read both articles, carefully consider both choices, and then, having an open mind, make an informed decision in my poll above.

And please, if you have any comments/observations/disagreements, please post them!