Well, opening weekend is officially history and key games had a dramatic impact on the shape of the playoff.  There is plenty more to come in the way of shake ups to the bracket over the coming 15 weeks, but here are a few of the more interesting facts about this weeks bracket.

Remember this bracket assumes that the season ended today, and bracket assignments are based on current conference standings and AP/BCS rankings.  There are some assumptions that have to be made, but this is by no means a prediction of who will win each conference.  That disclaimer aside we can move to a quick analysis of the bracket.

Breathe easy Big East fans.  Cincinnati proved they are the team to beat in the conference and the AP pollsters rewarded them with a Top 25 ranking.  Congratulations you're back in the bracket!

Oklahoma is out!  This may actually be something on which we should make a prediction, but there is plenty of time left in the season for Sam Bradford to heal up.  With the Red River Shootout still pretty far down range, Oklahoma could climb right back in the post season talk.

BYU?!  For the first time in the three years I've been working this playoff concept, a non BCS team is on the brink of breaking into the playoff after the first week.  This being said, the premier non BCS team each season has always made the playoff at season's end for the past three years.  Could BYU be the team to secure a play-in position or will TCU have a stepping stone to the post season with a win over the Cougars and their inflated ranking?  While BYU is ranked #9 in the AP poll, they still have to hope the BCS rankings feel the same way about them, and there is a lot of season left before they're first released.

Who's at risk this week?  Ohio State.  The Buckeyes squeaked by Navy in the season opener and this week's game against the Trojans of USC will either make or break their hopes for a National Championship bid.  A loss against USC will likely drop them out of the playoff for a few weeks, but never underestimate the love AP pollsters have for Ohio State.  I'm sure we'll see them back in the playoff late in the season.

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The Concept:

A hybrid system that incorporates the current bowl system with an expanded playoff. Playoff would take 4 weeks to complete utilizing the same amount of time as the current bowl system.

Background:

Anyone even remotely interested in college football knows there is a problem with the current way in which the nation crowns the NCAA football champion. While most major websites and analysts vote for a complete revamp of the BCS system, we believe that the pieces and parts of the solution have already been created waiting for someone to put them together. We have done that and what you see above is the result: A 10 team playoff which incorporates

- BCS Rankings

- Current BCS bowl layout

- BCS Conference Champions with At-Large Bids

- Maintains the tradition of bowl season

We think it is a solid assumption that the current BCS ranking system can identify the top 10 teams in the country, but no amount of human input and computer analysis can pinpoint the top two teams in the nation. It’s this belief that pointed us to a 10 team playoff.

Additional Bowl Locations Selection:

The four BCS Bowls (Fiesta, Orange, Sugar, and Rose) are on center stage and the current BCS Bowls plus National Championship format will be maintained. BCS Bowls will have rights to Semi-Final games and 2 of the 4 regional games.

The BCS Bowl which hosts the national championship, will be required to host a regional round game to facilitate preparations for the National Championship.

In order to fill the bracket, the BCS will host a "BCS Playoff Bowl Location Selection Show" where they will invite four non-BCS bowls to participate. These "smaller" bowls will be required to provided their payouts to the BCS payout pot in order to facilitate a graduated payout system which is addressed later.

New Bowl Schedule:

After rescheduling, only two bowls (not involved in the playoff) will have to move the date in which they play:

Hawaii Bowl will move from 24 DEC at 8:00pm to 23 DEC at 5:00pm

Emerald Bowl will move from 26 DEC at 8:00pm to 27 DEC at 5:00pm

GMAC Bowl would have the option of moving to 04 JAN at 8:00pm to accommodate a 3 day, bowl game free period before the National Championship

Team Selection:

6 BCS Conference Champions seeded 1 through 6 according to their BCS ranking. (AP Rank if too early in the season). If a BCS conference championship does not rank in the BCS rankings they will forfeit their guaranteed bid.

4 Non Conference Champions will be seeded 7-10 and will be required to play into the playoff. These will be the 4 highest ranked teams in the BCS rankings that did not win a BCS conference.

There is no limit to the number of teams any one conference can have in the playoff

Seed assignment is preset and permanent in the bracket. It cannot be altered to make for "better matchups" in the playoff.

Payout:

Payout will be graduated and will be determined by the round in which you lose and exit the playoff. A graduated system allows for the increased cost of sending teams to an increased number of games as well as paying for fan incentives to attend.

2009 Payout totals $186,260,000.00

Benefits and Drawbacks of the Playoff System:

As with any proposal for change, there must be benefits clearly defined and they must out weigh the drawbacks.

Benefits:

- National Champion will be decided on the field by the players

- Increased viewership of smaller, "early bowl season" bowls

- Increased BCS exposure adding Bowl Location Selection Show

- Current systems remain in place

- Favors BCS conferences while allowing for at-large bids

Drawbacks:

- Lengthened season

Solution: Eliminate weak early season game

- Reduction in number of automatic bowl bids for conferences

Non issue: Payout increased by graduated payout system