FreeSafety posted:8 team playoff.
5 Power 5 conference champs plus 3 at large teams.
That way winning your conference means something and WIS/PS, OSU and MI all get in. Oklahoma gets in.
A 12 team tournament would be the way to go to make the conference championships mean something, but the problem is there are 5 Power conferences instead of 4. You could award the top 4 rated POwer Conference champions an automatic bye, and then have the 5th go into an 8 team First Round playoff to see which four teams play the conference champs.
I agree that this year will expose the fact that the conference championship is not that important. It's very likely that Penn State/Bucky winner won't get in. If Florida would upset Alabama, it's almost certain that Alabama would still get into the playoff. If Washington or Clemson loses (which is more likely than Alabama), then Michigan likely gets in. Thus, you could imagine a scenario where 2 or 3 of the 4 playoff teams didn't win their conference.