REVISITED: The Case For The College Football Playoff System Of 2008

On August 16th of this year I prepared my annual appeal to the NCAA for a playoff system. The same day I posted a synopsis of the proposal in article form on the Bleacher Report.

I first prepared the system in 1965 and submitted it to a weekly national magazine which caught the attention of one of the more well-known college football writers.

Very quickly, he encouraged me to contact the appropriate officials in the NCAA and provided the addresses of representatives of the four major Bowls (Cotton, Orange, Sugar, and Rose) who could be "counted upon" to be open-minded to the idea. 

Needless to say, the playoff system has yet to be put in place. Over the years, I've been informed by such "open-minded" gentlemen as Roy Kramer that there is no reason to pursue this because it is not going to happen.

Still, the quest persists. At this point, we are aware of the money considerations and the political process involving the unlikely gang of three which includes the Rose Bowl, The SEC, and The Big 10.

There is no way to explain 43 years of excuses, suffice to say, there are reasons why it hasn't happened.

What follows is a listing of the system that I have proposed (with some modifications over the decades due to changing conferences) using the top teams of 2008. For reference, we will use the B/R Top 25 Poll for the current week.

To keep conversation civil and to avoid argument, we will simply advance the higher rated team in the B/R Poll. Feel free to make your suggestions as to what would actually happen and who would actually advance. 

The playoff involves 16 teams, split into East and West divisions. The 11 conference winners will receive an automatic bid. The auto bids to smaller conference champions provides the " Cinderella" appeal that the NCAA basketball tourney uses so well.

The highest rated independent (of course it is normally Notre Dame but you can't make this work without Notre Dame's co-operation) and four at large bids compose the remainder of the field. Rankings in any selected poll will determine the four at-large bids, for our purposes we will use the B/R Top 25.

THE EAST

1) SEC CHAMPION– ALABAMA 24              ALABAMA 14         ALABAMA 10

8) SUN BELT CHAMP– TROY    10

4) ACC CHAMPION– FLA STATE    31         FLA STATE 10                                ALABAMA 8  

5) BIG EAST CHAMP– SOUTH FLA 28

2) AT LARGE #1–   FLORIDA  21                FLORIDA  17        FLORIDA  7

7) MAC CHAMP–  BALL STATE 17

3) AT LARGE #2– GEORGIA 24                 GEORGIA  14

6) CUSA CHAMP– TULSA      21

                                                                                                                    CHAMPION: TEXAS

THE WEST

1) BIG 12 CHAMP–  TEXAS 23                     TEXAS          21           TEXAS  14 

8) WAC CHAMP– BOISE ST 21

4) AT LARGE #1– OKLAHOMA    38             OKLAHOMA  20                                 TEXAS 10

5) AT LARGE #2– TEXAS TECH  35

2) BIG 10 CHAMP– PENN STATE   20          PENN STATE  15       PENN ST 13

7) INDEPENDENT– NOTRE DAME 10

3) PAC10 CHAMP– SOUTHERN CAL 21       SOU CAL        14

6) MT WEST CHAMP– UTAH              7

Given the fact that only 16 teams are involved in the playoff, there are dozens of remaining stellar units available for the Bowls. While it is true that the Bowls could become more of an "NIT" situation for schools, is there any doubt a Rose Bowl of Ohio State vs. California would not be well attended? A Sugar Bowl of LSU vs. Okla. State? A Fiesta Bowl of Missouri vs. BYU? Orange Bowl of Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia?

There are plenty of opportunities available here for the schools to make money, have a rewarding trip, make the alumni happy, and still produce a champion through an on the field competition. As Ripley said, "Believe It Or Not"?