Imagining a wider college football playoff is an X-mas tradition!

It’s that time of year when I reflect on the past year (very challenging on personal and professional levels), view all of the traditional and non-traditional holiday movies, and stock up on an ungodly amount of tamales and eggnog.

And it’s also time for imagining an ideal NCAA Division I football playoff. It’s fun and a nice break in between all of my writing work. As I have said time and again, just about every other major level of organized sport has some kind of tournament. 

Even the Bahrain goathead kickball league has a playoff system. Let the best teams fight it out for a championship. It was not so much an unfairness about previous ways that a Division I championship game was determined, by mere polls and then a computer.

If a not-so-renowned school ends up winning, so be it. Supporters of a playoff system have heard all the arguments. That the bowl tradition is over. That student-athletes would be distracted from studying for finals. That schools would lose money. Those arguments no longer work. A tournament hasn’t harmed FCS or Division II or III or NAIA schools.

So, how would a wider Division I playoff work? Begin with automatic champions from FBS (Football Championship Series) conferences -- regular-season champs and championship game victors.

If there are co-champions, leave it to that conference to determine who gets what would be an automatic FBS bid. With 10 conferences, we get 12 automatic bids. Then average the rankings of the existing computer rankings, and AP, ESPN and USA Today coaches polls, focusing on which schools get the most place votes, and arrive at a final aggregate Top 25 poll. Top-ranked FBS independents, also, would be considered as usual.

Here’s what a final 2015 FBS aggregate poll would look like, with current conference titleholder status and final regular season record:

1) Clemson (ACC champion)

2) Alabama (SEC champion)

3) Michigan State (Big 10 champion)

4) Oklahoma (Big 12 champion)

5) Stanford (Pac-12 champion)

6) Iowa

7) Ohio State

8) Notre Dame

9) North Carolina

10) Florida State

11) TCU

12) Ole Miss

13) Northwestern

14) Oklahoma State

15) Oregon

16) Michigan

17) Baylor

18) Houston (AAC champion)

19) Florida

20) Utah

21) LSU

22) Navy

23) Temple

24) USC

25) Wisconsin

Unranked conference champions

Western Kentucky (Conference USA champion)

Bowling Green (Mid-American champion)

San Diego State (Mountain West champion)

Arkansas State (Sun Belt champion)

Ultimately, FBS automatic bids would go to Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Houston, Western Kentucky, Bowling Green, San Diego State and Arkansas State,

 

You add any top independent team ranked high enough overall in polls for an FBS bid and/or four (or five) other highest-ranked schools, overall in polls. So this year these schools get an at-large bid: Iowa, Ohio State, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Florida State and TCU

The ultimate FBS tournament seedings in a 16 vs. 1, 15 vs. 2, 14, vs. 3, etc. format would be:

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Michigan State

4. Oklahoma

5. Stanford

6. Iowa

7. Ohio State

8. Notre Dame

9. North Carolina

10. Florida State

11. TCU

12. Houston

13. Western Kentucky

14. San Diego State

15. Bowling Green

16. Arkansas State

Now let’s consider the oldest, popular, most lucrative, traditional bowls and mix in some regional flair, possible area rivalry matches and considerate schedules. 

(Let’s digress for a moment: In the process, let’s ditch most of the younger bowls. I mean, cmon, the Miami Beach Bowl? Marmot Boca Rataon Bowl? New Era Pinstripe Bowl, still? Popeyes Bahamas Bowl? Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl? Quick Lane Bowl, still in Detroit? In winter? Too many bowls dilute the prestige of even earning a shot at postseason play, and permits five-win and six-win teams to get in when they really shouldn't be there.)

OK, tangent over. All joking aside, use 15 of those prestigious, richest, most famous (i.e. powerful, established) bowls as the FBS bowl matches. All other bowls, may stick around for our comical entertainment, to be watched mainly on ESPN the Ocho.

Rotate the FBS bowls as quarterfinal, semifinal and final games, all of which very likely would raise the number of ticket-buyers, TV viewers and payouts. Why? There would be a greater incentive to play in such a lucrative bowl. A chance to advance and win a won-on-the-field title. All the conference champs and at-large bidders get a fair shot.

Looking at the 2015 calendar, the younger, Decemberish bowls host quarterfinals on various days: 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, 4 vs. 13, 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and 8 vs. 9.

Tuesday, Dec. 15

TCU vs. Iowa– Motel 6 Catcus (formerly Copper, Insight, Buffalo Wild Wings); Tempe

Wednesday, Dec. 16

Arkansas State vs. Clemson -- Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus (formerly Tangerine, Capital One); Orlando

Houston vs. Stanford-- Holiday; San Diego

Thursday, Dec. 17

Bowling Green vs. Alabama -- Outback (formerly Hall of Fame); Tampa

San Diego State vs. Michigan State -- Valero Alamo;

Friday, Dec. 18

Florida State vs. Ohio State -- AutoZone Liberty; Memphis

Western Kentucky vs. Oklahoma – Camping World Independence; Shreveport

Saturday, Dec. 19

North Carolina vs. Notre Dame-- TaxSlayer (formerly Gator); Jacksonville

Probable winners?

Iowa, Clemson, Houston (upset special!), Alabama, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, North Carolina (upset special!)

I’m departing from previous years worth of scenarios and going for highest vs. lowest surviving seeds for match-ups in bowls in the following week's semifinals. Regional match-up is still a priority as best as it can be considered.

Wednesday, Dec. 23

Ohio State vs. Michigan State -- Allstate Sugar; New Orleans

Friday, Dec. 25

Houston vs. Clemson -- Goodyear Cotton; Dallas

Saturday, Dec. 26

North Carolina vs. Alabama -- Chick-fil-A Peach; Atlanta

Iowa vs. Oklahoma -- Hyundai Sun; El Paso

Probable winners?

Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, Iowa (screw the Sooners)

Final Four of sorts/Friday, Jan. 1 (featuring surviving seeds, low vs. high

Iowa vs. Alabama – BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl, Tempe

Ohio State vs. Clemson-- Orange Bowl, Miami

Probable winners?

Alabama, Clemson

Championship game, Monday, Jan. 11

Alabama vs. Clemson– Northwestern Mutual Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Sure, it may end up being this way anyway in the current four-team system. But the fun is letting all play out. Because if you don’t let them play it out on the field, you’re a damn Commie.