Editor’s note: Spencer is a fan of the LoyalCougars blog and of the Rise & Shout podcast. After seeing a series of tweets by him about his version of a college football playoff, I thought it would be fun to have him detail it out here on the site, especially after I (Adam) did the same a few weeks ago. With only a few minor edits, here’s Spencer’s proposal.

By Spencer
@SpenceT25

 Conference expansion has been a mixed bag.  I thought that Nebraska to the Big 10 was a no-brainer.  Utah and Colorado to the PAC-12 weren’t as sexy, but I liked seeing the PAC get to 12.  Since then, though, the moves haven’t made a lot of sense.  I detest Texas A&M to the SEC. Mizzou too.  Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC?  Garbage.  TCU to the Big XII made sense, so I don’t know how that decision was made.  All this got me to thinking that someone ought to be in charge of D-1 College Football.  A commish, so to speak.  So, if I was hired to be the commish of the FBS, what would I do?  Where would I start?

Let’s blow it up

I’d start by blowing up the whole system.  I would make all conferences regional in nature and balanced with nine teams each.  No independents.  No teams in California in the same conference with teams in New York.  Also, no conference championship games, because really what is a championship game other than an imitation playoff?  No, in my world, we’d actually have a playoff so there would be no need for conference championship games.  Conference play would be balanced with four home and four away games.  Add four non-conference games.   Let teams play who, where, and when they may.  Basketball and the other sports can continue on in the conferences they are in now – I don’t care.

Having 8 9-team conferences segues perfectly into an 8-team playoff.  This would mean that each conference champion gets in, preserving the sanctity of the regular season, as even one loss within conference play could potentially mean a team ends the year playing at the Meineke Car Care Bowl, rather than having a shot at a National Championship.  This also means that only 72 teams would remain playing at the top level of college football, meaning a bunch of people wouldn’t be very happy with me.  But really, this is my world, and this is how my world would operate. 

Step 1: The conferences

So what would the conferences look like?  Here are the conferences I came up with: 

Southwest: USC, Arizona, Arizona St., Cal, Fresno, Nevada, Stanford, UCLA, UNLV
Northwest: Air Force, Boise, BYU, Colorado, Colorado St., Oregon, Oregon St., Utah, Washington
Northern: Illinois, Iowa, Iowa St., Kansas, Kansas St., Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Southern: Alabama, Auburn, Florida St., Kentucky, Louisville, Ole Miss, Miss. St., Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Mid South: Arkansas, Houston, LSU, Okla. St., Oklahoma, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
Great Lakes: Cincy, Indiana, Michigan, Mich. St., Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio St., Purdue, West Virginia
Northeast: Boston College, UConn, Maryland, Navy, North Carolina, Penn State, Pittsburg, Rutgers, Virginia Tech
Southeast: Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami (FL), North Carolina St., South Carolina, South Florida, Wake Forest

You’ll notice that some AQ teams are missing.  Specifically, Washington State of the PAC-12, Baylor of the Big XII, Virginia and Duke of the ACC, and Syracuse of the Big East (moving to the ACC) are left out.  Sorry guys, your pedigree and fan bases were lacking in my estimation.  Have fun with the FCS.

Step 2: The Champions and the seeding

Next I took a look at all of the conferences and selected winners, based on the 2011 season results and my own opinions of the schools.  Here are the champions, in no particular order, along with the seeding.

#   Team         Wins    Loss     Seading      Region        Reason in
1   Stanford            11          1                2                    West            Southwest Champ
2   Oregon              11          2                4                    West            Northwest Champ
3   Wisconsin        10         3                3                    West            Northern Champ
4   Alabama           11         1                 1                    East             Southern Champ
5   LSU                     13        0                 1                    West           Mid South Champ
6   Mich. St.           10         3                4                    East            Great Lakes Champ
7   VaTech             11         2                 2                    East            Northeast Champ
8   Georgia             10         3                 3                   East             Southeast Champ  

Step 3: Let’s have a playoff!

I would incorporate six bowl games into my playoff system: The four BCS games (Rose, Fiesta, Orange, and Sugar) as well as two other bowl games (I chose the Cotton and the Citrus).  The National Championship game would rotate, but be played in NFL stadiums (perhaps using the Super Bowl model, a stadium could be “awarded” the opportunity to host a NC Game).  Can you imagine the excitement that would be present for these games?  Here’s a quick overview:

Round 1

December 16^th at 5pm:

#2 Virginia Tech vs. #3 Georgia at the Citrus Bowl, Orlando Florida

Blacksburg, Virginia is 360 miles from Athens, Georgia.  Virginia Tech suffered two losses on the season, and both were to Clemson.  Lucky for them that Clemson isn’t in their conference in my world, so they win the conference.  Georgia lost three games – all to ranked foes.  This game would be a fun one to watch.

Result: Defensive struggle, Virginia Tech 17 Georgia 13

December 16^th at 8pm:

#1 Alabama vs. #4 Michigan State at the Orange Bowl, Miami Florida

Alabama lost one game this season, to #1 LSU.  Needless to say, Alabama is a pretty good team.  Michigan State needed a hail mary pass to beat Wisconsin, who later beat them in another close game.

Result: Alabama runs away with it, Alabama 37, MSU 24

December 17^th at 5pm:

#2 Stanford vs. #3 Wisconsin at the Cotton Bowl, Dallas Texas

Wisconsin is a well balanced team who scores in bunches and defends among the best in the nation.  Stanford is an offensive juggernaut. Can Wisconsin hold them back?  Would Andrew Luck take the team on his back to lead them to the National Title Game?  We’d know, if only this game was actually being played.

Result: Wisky holds the Cards, Wisconsin 30, Stanford 24

December 17^th at 8pm:

#1 LSU vs. #4 Oregon at the Fiesta Bowl, Phoenix Arizona

The #3 offense in the country takes on the #2 defense.  Strength vs. Strength.  Speed vs. Speed.  LSU won the first matchup at the beginning of the season, but Oregon has learned a lot since then.  Can LaMichael James and the Oregon offensive line break this game open for Oregon, or will it be another LSU victory against a talented, but inferior opponent?

Result: More of the same, LSU 41, Oregon 24

Round 2

December 30^th at 8pm:

#1 LSU vs. #3 Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena California

I’m salivating at the thought of this game.  I think it would be an epic battle between two well-balanced teams.  Another defensive struggle though.

Result: Remember Alabama-LSU? LSU 7, Wisconsin 3

December 31^th at 5pm:

#1 Alabama vs. #2 Virginia Tech at the Sugar Bowl, New Orleans Louisiana

Virginia Tech would have two weeks to prepare for this game.  Realizing their offense probably needs a little help to win this game, I think they go Boise State style with gadget plays.  Alabama relies on Richardson and a stout defense. 

Result: Boise wins! Alabama 17, Virginia Tech 18

National Championship Game

January 7^th at 8pm:

Western Region #1 LSU vs. Eastern Region #2 Virginia Tech at Cowboy’s Stadium, Arlington Texas

The biggest story about the first ever National Championship Game is how Virginia Tech made it past Alabama and now has a chance to win their first ever National Championship.  LSU steals the show, however.

Result: LSU 37, Virginia Tech 13.

By Adam
@ajmangum

Last year on my personal blog, I seeded a 16-team playoff; I even simulated the entire thing. It was a lot of fun. I’m not going to simulate it this year, but I am going to seed it again here on LoyalCougars.

By way of explanation and to get the logistics out-of-the-way, our pretend college football playoff would be a 16-team tournament. Eleven of the 16 spots would be determined by the winners of the 11 D-I conferences; the other 5 participants would be at-large, with a maximum of three participants per conference. The 5 at-large teams and the seeding would be determined by a committee (in this case, a committee of one — me).

I am using several things to help my seeding, leaning heavily on Jeff Sagarin’s college football rankings. So, without further ado, here are you NCAA football playoff participants.

Playoff Participants

Conference Champs: Clemson (ACC); Oklahoma State (Big 12); West Virginia (Big East)*; Wisconsin (B1G); Southern Miss (C-USA); NIU (MAC); TCU (MWC); Oregon (Pac-12); LSU (SEC); Arkansas State (Sun Belt); Louisiana Tech (WAC)

* I chose West Virginia because they rank highest in Sagarin’s ranking. I have no problem with Cincinnati, but Louisville has 5 loses, so I didn’t consider them a viable alternative. In my world the BCS does not exist, so you can’t use that as a tie-breaker.

At Large: Alabama (SEC); Oklahoma (Big 12); Kansas State (Big 12); Stanford (Pac 12); Boise State (MWC)*

* The toughest decision for me was the final at-large big between Boise and Arkansas. In the end, I chose the 1-loss team. And everyone in the tournament is glad USC was not eligible. Baylor would have been in the mix too, but I already had three Big 12 teams.

Seeds

1. LSU (13-0, SEC Champ)
Why: I don’t think it’s any stretch to say the Tigers have been the nation’s best team.
Flaws: From a seeding perspective, none.

2. Oklahoma State (11-1, Big 12 Champ)
Why: In the endless debate between Bama and OkState, I will give the edge to a team that won 6 games versus the top 30 than a team that won 2.
Flaws: That pesky loss against Iowa State

3. Alabama (11-1, SEC at-large)
Why: Only one loss, played LSU very tough
Flaws: Only 3 games against top 30 competition

4. Wisconsin (11-2, B1G Champ)
Why: Won a tough conference; 3-1 vs. top 30.
Flaws: Two losses, including one to a pretty lousy Ohio State team.

5. Oklahoma (9-3, Big 12 at-large)
Why: Six wins vs. top 30
Flaws: Loss against Texas Tech; finished third in the Big 12

6. Oregon (11-2, Pac 12 Champ)
Why: Won conference. Top 30 schedule. Only two losses were to No. 1 LSU and a very good USC team.
Flaws: Two losses; only four games against top 30, and lost two.

7. Stanford (11-1, Pac 12 at-large)
Why: 3-1 vs. top 30
Flaws: Only the 36th toughest schedule.

8. Kansas State (10-2, Big 12 at-large)
Why: Five wins vs. top 30. Second place finish is nation’s top conference in 2011 (according to Sagarin).
Flaws: Some close calls against mediocre competition.

9. Clemson (10-3, ACC Champ)
Why: 3 wins vs. top 30.
Flaws: 3 losses, including @ NC State.

10. Boise State (11-1, MWC at-large)
Why: Flawless season, except for loss to TCU.
Flaws: Fairly weak schedule. Didn’t win conference.

11. TCU (10-2, MWC Champ)
Why: First team to win in Boise since I believe 1897.
Flaws: Weak schedule; inexplicable loss to SMU at home.

12. Southern Miss (11-2, C-USA Champ)
Why: Big win vs. Houston; won conference.
Flaws: Losses to lousy teams like Marshall and UAB.

13. West Virginia (9-3, Big East Champ)
Why: Won a lousy Big East; that’s all they’ve got.
Flaws: 3 losses. Weak schedule.

14. Louisiana Tech (8-4, WAC Champ)
Why: Won conference.
Flaws: No wins vs. top 30.

15. NIU (10-3, MAC Champ)
Why: Won conference
Flaws: No wins vs. top 30.

16. Arkansas State (10-2, Sunbelt Champ)
Why: Won conference.
Flaws: Weaker schedule than some FCS teams.

First Round Match-Ups

My pretend playoff’s first round would be hosted by the home teams (higher-seeded team hosts for the first two rounds). Two games would happen on Friday night, with the remainder taking place on Saturday (two noon games, two 3pm games, one 7pm game, one 9 pm game). The first round happens this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 9-10). Here are the hypothetical first-round matchups. The second round would take place the following weekend (Dec. 16-17), with the top seed playing the worst remaining seed (and so forth).

Arkansas State @ LSU
NIU @ Oklahoma State
Louisiana Tech @ Alabama
West Virginia @ Wisconsin
Southern Miss @ Oklahoma
TCU @ Oregon
Boise State @ Stanford
Clemson @ Kansas State

Don’t tell me this wouldn’t be a compelling weekend of football. Yeah, the first three games are snoozers, but those teams earned that. Every other match-up is compelling.

The Final Four would happen on Jan. 2 (sites would be any football facility, not just traditional bowl sites ), with the championship game following the next week.

I like my world a lot better than the BCS mess.