16 Team Playoff Idea

[tiger2vette2]

Nobody will care about this today but I'm going to pollute the board with nonsense anyway because what else are message boards for.

So much conversation yesterday and today (generated by ESPN talking heads, mostly) about how the playoffs should just be seeded as rankings rather than conference champs getting auto byes. I don't agree with this take and think the best change they could make would be reseeding for the second round, but at any rate this conversation might be pointless because this format is only good through next season anyway and 2026 opens a lot of possibilities, including expanding to 16 teams.

Alongside this there has been talk of the SEC and Big Ten demanding 4 auto bids each. That sort of concession feels like one of the things that would be a death knell for college football - a concession of perceived superiority, or to TV dollars over on the field results (consider how many national titles the ACC has won in the last 20 years compared to the Big Ten, for instance).

But let's say that both a 16 team playoff and 4 auto bids for the two money conferences are inevitable. I had an idea today for a format that might make this more palatable for college football at large:

• Autobids for all power conferences, including their champions:
  • SEC: 4
  • Big Ten: 4
  • ACC + Notre Dame: 3
  • Big 12: 2
• Autobids for the 2 highest ranked G5 champs (with the Pac 12 being rebuilt in 2026, the Pac 12 and AAC are likely to be of similar strengths as conferences, and likely to produce competitive champions)
• At large bid for the highest ranked team that doesn't get an autobid
• Seeding based on rankings - no bump for conference champs
• First round played at home, Rounds 2-4 at neutral sites like now (unlike now, this means the top seeds get the home playoff game reward, though not a bye)
• Re-seeding after each round, and Rounds 2-3 bowl sites based on conference tie ins and geography like now (but not decided until after each round is complete)

This year, the seeds would be:

1. Oregon (Big Ten Champ, Big Ten Autobid #1)
2. Georgia (SEC Champ, SEC Autobid #1)
3. Texas (SEC Autobid #2)
4. Penn State (Big Ten Autobid #2)
5. Notre Dame (ACC Autobid #1)
6. Ohio State (Big Ten Autobid #3)
7. Tennessee (SEC Autobid #3)
8. Indiana (Big Ten Autobid #4)
9. Boise State (G5 Champ Autobid #1)
10. SMU (ACC Autobid #2)
11. Alabama (SEC Autobid #4)
12. Arizona State (Big 12 Champ, Big 12 Autobid #1)
13. Miami (At Large Bid)
14. Clemson (ACC Champ, ACC Autobid #3)
15. BYU (Big 12 Autobid #3)
16. Army (G5 Champ Autobid #2)

First round games would be;
Army @ Oregon
BYU @ Georgia
Clemson @ Texas - lol
Miami @ Penn State
Arizona State @ Notre Dame
Alabama @ Ohio State
SMU @ Tennessee
Boise State @ Indiana

Let's say bold teams win. With re-seeding, second round would be:

Oregon vs Miami (Rose Bowl)
Georgia vs Arizona State (Sugar Bowl)
Texas vs Boise State (Fiesta Bowl)
Ohio State vs Tennessee (Peach Bowl)

What do you think - if there's no way around the SEC and Big Ten autobids, is this palatable, or should the ACC tell the "P2" to shove it and have their own playoff? Also, how do you protect the importance of conference championship games in this model, or the incentive to play in them? (One idea - guarantee autobids for both teams in each P4 championship game, which in this bracket would mean Iowa State would replace BYU).

 

[Jonada]

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