A FOUR TEAM PLAYOFF WITH THREE ROUNDS AND NO VOTES

The first College Football Playoff is less than nine months away and I thought this would be a good time to fix it before it gets here. The format is as follows:

1-All FBS teams play equal maximum game regular season schedules versus FBS competition only.
2-Nationally, all FBS teams place most to least Power Points (Games Won Opponents’ Wins – Games Lost Opponents’ Losses), Net Wins (Wins – Losses), Schedule Strength (Opponents’ Power Points), and Net Points (Points For – Points Against).
3-All FBS conferences hold a league title game matching the top two teams (divisions are eliminated) based on league record. The national standings break all ties.
4-The top two teams in the national standings not participating in a league title game qualify for the wildcard title game. The winner of this game is the seventh automatic qualifier for a New Year’s Six bowl and is the only non-league champion eligible for the playoffs.
5-The top four teams in the national standings among the 10 league champions and one wildcard champion qualify for the playoffs.

How would this format have fared in 2013? The pairings for championship week are as follows:

1-Auburn vs. 4-Missouri
2-Ohio State vs. 14-Michigan State
3-Florida State vs. 16-Clemson
5-Baylor vs. 11-Oklahoma
6-Arizona State vs. 7-Stanford
8-Alabama vs. 10-South Carolina
9-Central Florida vs. 15-Louisville
12-Northern Illinois vs. 34-Ball State
21-Fresno State vs. 52-Utah State
37-Rice vs. 43-Marshall
60-Louisiana-Lafayette vs. 64-Arkansas State

While it remains possible for a team ranked lower entering championship weekend to win its game and leapfrog another winner, it is most likely that higher ranked teams will control their destiny. Based on that premise, the top five teams would have controlled their playoff destiny. The Pac-12 winner would have needed help in one game to qualify for the playoffs. Alabama would have needed help in two games and Central Florida, South Carolina, and Oklahoma would have needed help in three games.  That is eleven teams still alive for the playoffs participating in elimination games during championship weekend. The four team playoff essentially becomes an eight plus team playoff that emphasizes winning your league while still leaving the door open for one non-champion and all of it is determined by objective means.  What’s not to love?