Too early you say..... Nah!!! After all, the commentators couldn't stop talking Monday night about how the Boise State Broncos were playing for a National Championship opportunity.  If ESPN can start talking about the first week of January in early September, then I can start dreaming about my solution to what is bound to be controversial this season as it always is... who will be playing in the National Title game.  

As far as I'm concerned...it is never too early to begin talking about the superior format of a playoff.  I enjoy watching the BCS bowl games just as much as the next guy, but my mom always told me that if you can't do something right, you shouldn't do it at all. Why should we all have to accept the obviously flawed current system when there is a simple and much better option available?

So for the fourth year in a row, we'll begin the lobbying for a 10-team BCS playoff now, at the completion of Week 1.  Sure things will change and teams will drop out of the bracket never to be heard of again this season, but that's half the fun of tracking this crazy game we call College Football!  

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I apologize for the lack luster display of the Playoff Bracket this week.  I seem to have 'misplaced' my base graphic from last season, but I'll work on getting a new layout completed prior to next week's posting.

A very brief thought on the initial layout:  (Remember, the playoff assumes the season were to stop today!)

AP Ranks #1-8 have made the playoff and only the ACC and Big East Champions find themselves outside the Top 10.  Don't worry Iowa and Oklahoma fans.  The bracket will change plenty this season... trust me.  As for the match ups right now... they look pretty appealing but we'll just have to wait and see what the season has in store for everyone.

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:

TBD.

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.

2010 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