Crabtree's Playoff Proposal
Division I-A college football is the only major college sport that does not have a playoff system. Instead, Division I-A has a national championship game whereby the two teams are chosen by a controversial and confusing BCS system. Since the majority of college football fans, players, students and alumni want a playoff, it is only a matter of time until Division I-A endorses a playoff system. Therefore, I am proposing a 16 team playoff that uses Crabtree's College Football Rankings to select teams for the playoffs.
In order to set up a fair playoff system, you need to determine (1) how many teams will be in the playoffs, (2) how teams will make the playoffs, and (3) how the playoffs will work. My playoff proposal addresses each one of these issues as summarized below.
How Many Teams Will Be In the Playoffs
I am proposing a 16 team playoff for Division I-A, because only in a 16 team playoff will there be enough room to include all of the top teams from both the large and small conferences. Alternatively, if Division I-A elects to go with an 8 team playoff, it would exclude some of the top teams from the large conferences and virtually all of the teams from the small conferences. Additionally, Division I-A should also have a 16 team playoff because it is similar to what Division I-AA, Division II and Division III have successfully used for the past few years. Currently, Division I-AA and Division II both have a 16 team playoff, and Division III has a 28 team playoff. On the other hand, Division I-A only has 2 teams playing in a national championship game, with no playoffs.
How Teams Will Make the Playoffs
I am proposing that teams be selected for the Division I-A playoffs based on Crabtree's College Football Rankings, which are the fairest and most accurate rankings currently being published. Crabtree's College Football Rankings are calculated based solely on each team's winning percentage and strength of schedule. Unlike the BCS Rankings and the polls, Crabtree's College Football Rankings do not reward teams for running up the scores on other teams, nor does it count games played against Division I-AA teams.
Under Crabtree's College Football Rankings, the team with the best record who plays the toughest schedule will be ranked number one. Also, in the event that more than one team ties with the same record, the team that played the toughest schedule will be ranked higher. These results are not guaranteed under the current BCS Rankings or the polls. A summary of the major flaws and weaknesses with the BCS Rankings, polls and other ranking systems are discussed in more detail at Problems with the BCS Rankings, Polls, etc.
How the Playoffs Will Work
Under my playoff proposal, the 16 teams will meet in a single elimination bracket, with the highest ranked team under Crabtree's College Football Rankings playing the 16th ranked team, the second highest ranked team playing the 15th ranked team, etc. After each round, the teams are reseeded with the highest ranked team remaining playing the lowest ranked team remaining, the second highest ranked team remaining playing the second lowest ranked team remaining, etc. This continues until there are only two teams left, who will then play for the national championship.
The first two rounds of the playoffs will be played during the first two weekends in December, with the higher ranked teams playing at home during these first two rounds. These home games will fairly reward the higher ranked teams for their performance throughout the season. The final four teams will then play on New Years day at neutral locations, with the national championship game to be played approximately a week later at a neutral location. As is done currently with the national championship game, the two semifinal games and the national championship game could be rotated between the four main bowls each year.
My playoff proposal will virtually guarantee that all of the playoff games will be sold out. This is accomplished by having the higher ranked teams play at home during the first two rounds, and by having the semifinal and national championship games played in major bowls. Also, by finishing the first two rounds of the playoffs by early to mid-December, the bowl selection committees will have plenty of time to select all of the teams for the remaining bowl games, and fans will have plenty of time to buy tickets and make arrangements to attend the bowl games.
Overall, my proposed playoff system can work within the current bowl structure, and can bring in even more money for Division I-A.