This is how to do a 16-team playoff AND preserve the integrity of the regular season. It is more of a fantasy playoff; here is
last year's thread. It is a 10+6 without CCGs and with teams assigned to 4 regions (West, South, North, East) and seeded 1-4 in each region. The first two rounds are played on campus in December while the semifinals are played NYD.
The rule that maintains the integrity of the regular season and enhances football traditions is the Rivalry Game rule. A team's last regular season game is labeled their "Rivalry Game" and performance in this game affects playoff entrance. A loss in a Rivalry Game:
1) Eliminates a team from conference tie-breakers, even before head-to-head.
2) Precludes a team from getting a #1 or #2 seed and hosting a first-round game.
3) Prohibits a team from getting an at-large spot, unless the loss was to a Top 10 team
Here is what things might look like using this week's CFP Rankings to assign seeds:
NORTH (winner to Rose)
4 Northern Illinois @ 1 Ohio State
3 Michigan St @ 2 Cincinnati
WEST (winner to Rose)
4 SDSU @ 1 Oregon
3 Notre Dame @ 2 Michigan
EAST (winner to Sugar)
4 Louisiana @ 1 Georgia
3 Ole Miss @ 2 Wake Forest
SOUTH (winner to Sugar)
4 UTSA @ 1 Alabama
3 Baylor @ 2 OK State
Max 3 teams per conference. The top 6 champions will be seeded #1 or #2, unless they lost their Rivalry Game.
Obviously at this juncture teams have not played their Rivalry Game yet. What the rules around this game do is turn some games into defacto Round-of-32 games. Oklahoma-OK State, for example will send the winner to the playoff proper and the loser will be eliminated. If Alabama loses the Iron Bowl, the Tide will be eliminated, just as if it were a Round-of-32 game; no resting starters late in the season.
Ohio State-Michigan, because it is a matchup of Top 10 teams, will be less of an elimination game. But the winner will get to host 1, likely 2, home playoff games while the loser will go on the road, making The Game still quite meaningful.
The 3 max per conference also enhances conference play down the stretch for the top teams. Ohio State may not be eliminated by a loss to Michigan, but combined with a loss to Michigan State and the Buckeyes could find themselves ranked behind Iowa or Wisconsin and out of the playoff.
FINAL UPDATE:
SOUTH (Sugar A)
4 Louisiana @ 1 Georgia
3 Baylor @ 2 Utah
EAST (Sugar B)
4 Western Kentucky @ 1 Cincinnati
3 Ohio State @ 2 Pittsburgh
NORTH (Rose A)
4 Central Michigan @ 1 Michigan
3 Ole Miss @ 2 Notre Dame
WEST (Rose B)
4 San Diego St @ 1 Alabama
3 Oregon @ 2 OK State