The best "size" for a playoff

[ZOOMBAG]

4, 8, 12 ,16...

So what's the minimum size for a playoff field the gets all the serious contenders for the title wrapped up to decide the thing on the field.

4 leaves out teams like Utah at 12-0 that came out of a pretty good conference. Probably leaves out USC, too as well as Penn St.

8 gives us all the one loss teams and at least two of the undefeated teams, probably leaving only Ball St out.

12 get's them all in but also adds some questionable teams like two loss Ohio St...

So really, I can't see how any eventual playoff format 10, 20 , 50 years from now, can possibly include fewer than 8 teams and not suffer from the same woes we have with the current two team, one game playoff.

[Blue Hen]

I vote for 16, Zoom....simply because a genuine D1A championship should be for all of D1A....fully inclusive.

We have 11 non voted, non opinionated conference champions ( except for the weird B12 tie breaking system). Add 5 strong at large teams to flesh out the field for a nice even 4 week, 15 game, playoff that results in an undisputed, non voted/opinionated champion. It's so perfect and soooooo simple.

[CJHawkeyes]

16 is needed to include all teams and conferences. BTW, a 10 team playoff is the minimum size that could accomodate a 120-team league playing 12 game schedules and allow everyone to control their destiny.

[TigerStripe]

I vote 16 teams, 11 spots for the conference champs and 5 at-large spots.

[EvilVodka]

4-8 teams

Some one tell me why the ACC Champ, Cincinnati, and the C-USA champ should be involved in the National Title chase

Also, I don't think there's any way to get around college football's obsession/addiction with polls...can't be done IMO

11 conference champs + 5 At-large is DOA

[GatorGrad]

16 teams...11 conference champs + 5 at large bids with all games being on campus until the championship game at a neutral site. It would mean the end of the bowl system as we know it and will likely not happen anytime soon...but I hope to see it sometime in my lifetime.

[TigerStripe]

16 teams...11 conference champs + 5 at large bids with all games being on campus until the championship game at a neutral site. It would mean the end of the bowl system as we know it and will likely not happen anytime soon...but I hope to see it sometime in my lifetime.

I wrote an article about this.

My suggestion was 16 teams and still use the bowls.

Pick bowls to host each matchups.

Those bowls not used for the playoffs will be used the way it's used now (an "NIT" for college football except it's not a playoff like the NIT in basketball).

[CJHawkeyes]

4-8 teams

Some one tell me why the ACC Champ, Cincinnati, and the C-USA champ should be involved in the National Title chase

Also, I don't think there's any way to get around college football's obsession/addiction with polls...can't be done IMO

11 conference champs + 5 At-large is DOA

To make all conferences relevant and competitive? As I have said before, a 16 team playoff isn't about there being 16 deserving teams in a given year even pretending I care about what is means to be deserving. It is about making this a sport for 120 teams. 4-8 team playoffs keep this sport as a two class system especially if subjectivity is allowed to reign. Besides that, why dismiss a conference champion if its losses are within its own conference? For example, BC would make it under my format. Do you penalize a conference if its champion does not roll to an unbeaten or one-loss season because it is a competitive league?

BTW, polls is one addiction this sport needs to break. Completely worthless and I think this sport's fanbase could learn to accept an objective idea. The problem now is that so many are obsessed with validating concepts like "best team" that they are quick to dismiss any idea that contradicts their opinions of teams that are unrelated to the purpose of competition.

[H.I.]

16 teams. 8 champions from the 8 highest rated conferences and 8 at-large teams. The 8 conference champions host the 8 at-large no matter the differential in rankings. That's the set-up I've always favored.

[FLORIDA HERD FAN]

16 teams is the right number, EV, but it doesn't necessarily have to include the C-USA or even the SEC champ. The NCAA is perfectly capable of seeding the field the way it sees fit.

[Hail to the Victors Valiant]

Hot chicks dig the size of 8 (teams) and hot chicks bring the ratings up. I'll support what they are for.