Since a lot of you seem to think playoff expansion is inevitable, here's how I would structure an 8-team playoff:

Quarterfinal pool:
Rose Bowl/Fiesta Bowl
Cotton Bowl/Alamo Bowl
Citrus Bowl/Orange Bowl
Peach Bowl/Sugar Bowl

The Alamo and Citrus get the call simply because they have the highest payouts of any bowl not currently associated with the CFP. Those selections also maintain the East/West balance employed by the semifinals in the current model, and allow for the possibility of 4 games each to be aired on both December 31 and January 1 starting with one of the Florida games at 11:00 AM Eastern.

The two semifinals would be held the Saturday following the quarterfinals with a minimum 6 days' rest. The NFL would likely move one of its playoff games from Saturday to Sunday, essentially creating two triple headers of playoff football.

The final would then be played on Monday night, eight days after the semifinals.

The four bowls not serving as a quarterfinal each year would be free to contract with any conference. The lineup would look something like this:

Rose - Big 10 #1 vs Pac 12 #1
Cotton - Big 12 #1/G5 vs SEC #1
Citrus - ACC #1 vs Big 10#2/Pac 12 #2/ND
Peach - SEC #2/G5 vs ACC #2/Big 12 #1

Fiesta - Pac 12 # 1 vs Big 12 #2/Big 10 #2
Alamo - Big 12 #1 vs Big 10 #1/G5
Orange - ACC #2/ND vs SEC #2/G5/Big 10 #1
Sugar - SEC #1 vs ACC #1

A provision would be made that the highest rated G5 champion would be taken by one of the four non-playoff bowls each year, unless if that team makes the playoff. A second G5 representative would be required for a non-playoff bowl if ranked in the Top 10 of the final selection committee poll, and that school is not also in the playoff.

they aren't going to have it where with 8 teams- where there would be predetermined sites. It'd be a straight bracket 1/8, 4/5, 2/7, and 3/6. SEC, B12, and ACC won't allow the B10,P12 that at all...

I am trying to figure out how you get fans to travel to 3 straight playoff games. Even if you got the time, who has got the money?

Great idea. Preserves the New Years Day Bowls and gives us what we want. I brought this idea up several times in the past two years. What is so frustrating is how simple this is to do.

(10-13-2014 08:12 PM)stever20 Wrote:  they aren't going to have it where with 8 teams- where there would be predetermined sites. It'd be a straight bracket 1/8, 4/5, 2/7, and 3/6. SEC, B12, and ACC won't allow the B10,P12 that at all...

It gets problematic when you try a bowl based 8 team playoff. I have said that now for almost 2 years.

Think about the 2 years leading up to the new CFP playoff. Realignment begins in earnest. You're just exiting a period where Boise, TCU and Utah put tremendous pressure on the system as non-BCS schools. That climate led to the current playoff system where schools get picked by committee, the G5 autobid ect.

In the 2 years since the CFP deal was announced talk has been about autonomy, about the big guys splitting. There is no G5 threat banging at the door. Voting has restructured around the new P5/G5 lines.

The way its going, I could see the power conferences riding out this contract with the G5 and ordering up a split from D1 in 12 years. The NCAA tournament TV deal is up in 2024. The power shift due to realignment happened a few years too late to dial up a split this time around. Had realignment started up in 2008 then maybe.

What will going to an 8 team playoff do for the P5 that a split won't accomplish?

yeah I agree the basketball is going to be the big thing with the split. if the ncaa tourney wasn't contracted 10 more years- things could be very different right now.

(10-13-2014 09:01 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  Great idea. Preserves the New Years Day Bowls and gives us what we want. I brought this idea up several times in the past two years. What is so frustrating is how simple this is to do.

It doesn't preserve any "bowls." Calling it a bowl Rosen toake it a bowl. There is a reason the conferences want to keep bowls. There is a LOT more money in bowls than tickets. That is WHY the conferences are so hesitant to get rid of them.

(10-13-2014 10:19 PM)adcorbett Wrote:  

(10-13-2014 09:01 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  Great idea. Preserves the New Years Day Bowls and gives us what we want. I brought this idea up several times in the past two years. What is so frustrating is how simple this is to do.

It doesn't preserve any "bowls." Calling it a bowl Rosen toake it a bowl. There is a reason the conferences want to keep bowls. There is a LOT more money in bowls than tickets. That is WHY the conferences are so hesitant to get rid of them.

There would be a lot more money in a larger playoff than in bowls, and the conferences/schools would get to keep it all (minus overhead) instead of letting the bowl guys in loud blazers siphon so much of it away.

The TV rights for March Madness currently pay out $771 million per year. A properly-run CFB playoff with at least 8 teams (why not 12?) would bring in more money than that, and that's just TV dollars. Ticket sales, sponsorships, etc. would add to the haul.

The best idea for 8 teams IMO would be to just seed it and have 1-4 get home games. Then have the semi final teams play at bowl sites.

It would be the champions from the SEC, Big 12, Pac 12, Big 10, and ACC. Then add one team from the G5 conferences and two at-large teams. The committee would seed them 1-8. So if an 8 team playoff were announced today then it would probably look something like this:

#1 Mississippi State vs #8 Marshall
#4 FSU vs #5 Notre Dame
#2 Ole Miss vs #7 Michigan State
#3 Baylor vs #6 Oregon

(10-13-2014 11:59 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  The best idea for 8 teams IMO would be to just seed it and have 1-4 get home games. Then have the semi final teams play at bowl sites.

^^^This.

The quarterfinal games could be played the Friday and Saturday prior to Christmas, two weeks after the conference championship games. This would allow the current rotation of semifinal games among major bowls on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to remain in place, and minimize conflict with the NFL playoffs in January.

It's the least disruptive way to expand the playoff from 4 to 8 teams, opening the door to making the change in the near future.

(10-13-2014 11:59 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  The best idea for 8 teams IMO would be to just seed it and have 1-4 get home games. Then have the semi final teams play at bowl sites.

I like that approach better. It also limits the long break between games which often leads to sloppy play in the bowls.

I, too, like giving the 1-4 seeds a home game in the first round. It's gives teams a nod for finishing in the Top 4. After that, move to pre-determined sites.

There is no feasible way you could ask a team's fanbase to potential travel for a conference championship game and then travel three more weeks in a 3-4 week span for the playoff. Just too much. It's almost too much as it is.

NFL gives their better teams home field advantage. It works out well.

(10-14-2014 09:24 AM)BaylorGuy314 Wrote:  I, too, like giving the 1-4 seeds a home game in the first round. It's gives teams a nod for finishing in the Top 4. After that, move to pre-determined sites.

There is no feasible way you could ask a team's fanbase to potential travel for a conference championship game and then travel three more weeks in a 3-4 week span for the playoff. Just too much. It's almost too much as it is.

NFL gives their better teams home field advantage. It works out well.

It also gets the teams done earlier so they don't have to compete with the NFL playoffs for time slots. The downside is that the losers aren't going to want to play again, so they don't get the fun bowl trip and the bowls don't get those 4 good teams.

(10-13-2014 11:59 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  The best idea for 8 teams IMO would be to just seed it and have 1-4 get home games. Then have the semi final teams play at bowl sites.

That would tick off the B1G and PAC with their Rose Bowl.

I'm struggling to find a way to have a set of quarterfinal bowls into the system but there may be a way of doing that.

National Championship Game (Neutral Sites)
Semifinal Games (Rose, Orange)
Quarterfinal Games (Peach, Alamo, Holiday, Citrus)
Access Bowls (Cotton, Sugar, Fiesta)

What I've done here is make the Rose and Orange permanent semifinal games. Anytime a B1G or PAC team is in the Semifinals they automatically will play there which in most years is likely to have at least 1 or the other.

Quarterfinal bowls will be seeded 1 through 8 for the Top 8 teams. No automatic bid for the G5 and no contracts for the P5. The round will be played Christmas weekend and other non-CFP bowls can be precursor to that game midweek leading up to it.

Access Bowls would be for teams #9 through #14 plus the G5 representative. They'll be played the weekend of the Semifinal games.

In this system there are no contract bowls but for the B1G, PAC, ACC, SEC it shouldn't be a problem getting in one of theses bowls. The B12 may not be worth a contract by the time this system could be put into place.

(10-14-2014 11:56 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(10-13-2014 11:59 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  The best idea for 8 teams IMO would be to just seed it and have 1-4 get home games. Then have the semi final teams play at bowl sites.

That would tick off the B1G and PAC with their Rose Bowl.

I'm struggling to find a way to have a set of quarterfinal bowls into the system but there may be a way of doing that.

National Championship Game (Neutral Sites)
Semifinal Games (Rose, Orange)
Quarterfinal Games (Peach, Alamo, Holiday, Citrus)
Access Bowls (Cotton, Sugar, Fiesta)

What I've done here is make the Rose and Orange permanent semifinal games. Anytime a B1G or PAC team is in the Semifinals they automatically will play there which in most years is likely to have at least 1 or the other.

Quarterfinal bowls will be seeded 1 through 8 for the Top 8 teams. No automatic bid for the G5 and no contracts for the P5. The round will be played Christmas weekend and other non-CFP bowls can be precursor to that game midweek leading up to it.

Access Bowls would be for teams #9 through #14 plus the G5 representative. They'll be played the weekend of the Semifinal games.

In this system there are no contract bowls but for the B1G, PAC, ACC, SEC it shouldn't be a problem getting in one of theses bowls. The B12 may not be worth a contract by the time this system could be put into place.

you aren't going to have predetermined locations because take a year like this year. Why in the hell should Ohio St or Oregon- say they are 4/5- get home field advantage in a semifinal against the #1 seed? Just no.

(10-14-2014 12:10 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(10-14-2014 11:56 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(10-13-2014 11:59 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  The best idea for 8 teams IMO would be to just seed it and have 1-4 get home games. Then have the semi final teams play at bowl sites.

That would tick off the B1G and PAC with their Rose Bowl.

I'm struggling to find a way to have a set of quarterfinal bowls into the system but there may be a way of doing that.

National Championship Game (Neutral Sites)
Semifinal Games (Rose, Orange)
Quarterfinal Games (Peach, Alamo, Holiday, Citrus)
Access Bowls (Cotton, Sugar, Fiesta)

What I've done here is make the Rose and Orange permanent semifinal games. Anytime a B1G or PAC team is in the Semifinals they automatically will play there which in most years is likely to have at least 1 or the other.

Quarterfinal bowls will be seeded 1 through 8 for the Top 8 teams. No automatic bid for the G5 and no contracts for the P5. The round will be played Christmas weekend and other non-CFP bowls can be precursor to that game midweek leading up to it.

Access Bowls would be for teams #9 through #14 plus the G5 representative. They'll be played the weekend of the Semifinal games.

In this system there are no contract bowls but for the B1G, PAC, ACC, SEC it shouldn't be a problem getting in one of theses bowls. The B12 may not be worth a contract by the time this system could be put into place.

you aren't going to have predetermined locations because take a year like this year. Why in the hell should Ohio St or Oregon- say they are 4/5- get home field advantage in a semifinal against the #1 seed? Just no.

I don't agree with playing on home fields at all for any portion of the post season.

If a B1G and/or PAC school make the semifinals they can be placed in the Rose Bowl out of traditions. You could do the same with the SEC/ACC in the Orange

Seeds will only be used in the quarterfinals. After that point they don't mean a whole lot.

(10-13-2014 10:49 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(10-13-2014 10:19 PM)adcorbett Wrote:  

(10-13-2014 09:01 PM)USAFMEDIC Wrote:  Great idea. Preserves the New Years Day Bowls and gives us what we want. I brought this idea up several times in the past two years. What is so frustrating is how simple this is to do.

It doesn't preserve any "bowls." Calling it a bowl Rosen toake it a bowl. There is a reason the conferences want to keep bowls. There is a LOT more money in bowls than tickets. That is WHY the conferences are so hesitant to get rid of them.

There would be a lot more money in a larger playoff than in bowls, and the conferences/schools would get to keep it all (minus overhead) instead of letting the bowl guys in loud blazers siphon so much of it away.

The TV rights for March Madness currently pay out $771 million per year. A properly-run CFB playoff with at least 8 teams (why not 12?) would bring in more money than that, and that's just TV dollars. Ticket sales, sponsorships, etc. would add to the haul.

That is only $200 million more than they get now. Bowls generate multiple BILLIONS of dollars. That is Dr. Evil money. It is not as simple as many think. The money generated by bowls dwarfs anything that can be generated by a playoff alone, because you cannot recreate the dual revenue stream. No the colleges don't get all of it, but there is so much more to be made that way than the current set up. Especially since, and this is something most forget, it will be extremely hard for the early round playoff games to draw better TV ratings then the comparative BCS games they replace. While many die hard fans think they will mean more, the Access/BCS bowls often have more compelling matchups. Even using the NCAA tournament as an example, you will often find earlier round games with better matchups draw more viewers than later round games that are more important, but are not as good of matchups. The idea that changing the games from destination end of year games to quarterfinals for a tournament makes them more valuable to TV is an idea, that today, is not supported by ratings. BCS bowl games, as an average of the final, draw better ratings than ANY major professional comparison (i.e. World Series vs. ALCS). To assume that the ratings would jump, while it could happen, may be awfully optimistic. Especially to jump enough to make the loss of site income (bowls pay out far more than the combine value of gate and TV income) feasible.

There is a reason why the conferences have been so allergic to a playoff. And it's not because they don't like making money.

(10-14-2014 12:23 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(10-14-2014 12:10 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(10-14-2014 11:56 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(10-13-2014 11:59 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  The best idea for 8 teams IMO would be to just seed it and have 1-4 get home games. Then have the semi final teams play at bowl sites.

That would tick off the B1G and PAC with their Rose Bowl.

I'm struggling to find a way to have a set of quarterfinal bowls into the system but there may be a way of doing that.

National Championship Game (Neutral Sites)
Semifinal Games (Rose, Orange)
Quarterfinal Games (Peach, Alamo, Holiday, Citrus)
Access Bowls (Cotton, Sugar, Fiesta)

What I've done here is make the Rose and Orange permanent semifinal games. Anytime a B1G or PAC team is in the Semifinals they automatically will play there which in most years is likely to have at least 1 or the other.

Quarterfinal bowls will be seeded 1 through 8 for the Top 8 teams. No automatic bid for the G5 and no contracts for the P5. The round will be played Christmas weekend and other non-CFP bowls can be precursor to that game midweek leading up to it.

Access Bowls would be for teams #9 through #14 plus the G5 representative. They'll be played the weekend of the Semifinal games.

In this system there are no contract bowls but for the B1G, PAC, ACC, SEC it shouldn't be a problem getting in one of theses bowls. The B12 may not be worth a contract by the time this system could be put into place.

you aren't going to have predetermined locations because take a year like this year. Why in the hell should Ohio St or Oregon- say they are 4/5- get home field advantage in a semifinal against the #1 seed? Just no.

I don't agree with playing on home fields at all for any portion of the post season.

If a B1G and/or PAC school make the semifinals they can be placed in the Rose Bowl out of traditions. You could do the same with the SEC/ACC in the Orange

Seeds will only be used in the quarterfinals. After that point they don't mean a whole lot.

I'm sorry but there isn't a chance that the SEC, Big 12, or ACC would go along with your idea at all. The #1 team dictates where the games are played. If SEC is #1 and they are bracketed to play #4- SEC would get the honor. So if it's #1 Miss St vs #4 Ohio St- there's no way in hell that game should be played in the Rose Bowl. Sorry.

And bottom line- the conferences have dictated that. #1 gets all the priority. If Miss St is #1 this year- they will be playing in the Sugar Bowl- even if their opponent is #4 Ohio St, and #3 is Oregon.