I don't know if it's ever been suggested before, but what about having conference playoffs in the FBS? Here are some good points to consider using the ACC as an example:

1. This is NOT a replacement for the BCS
2. This does not cut into bowl season

IIRC, there is a bye-week before the championship game in the ACC. In a 4-team playoff, the 2 first round games replace the off week and the winners meeting the following week. Bowl season would be unaffected.

If I'm wrong in assuming that there's a bye-week, the regular season can be cut back down to 11 games.

3. These games would be DO OR DIE

The all-or-nothing excitement of the regular season would continue. As closely packed as the standings of a 12-team conference can be, it's also unlikely that regular season games would lose meaning.

4. Any conference championship matchup is possible

As it stands now, the Atlantic champ faces the Coastal champ. A 4-team playoff with the top 2 teams from each division could pair Atlantic 1 vs. Coastal 2 and Coastal 1 vs. Atlantic 2, making it possible for both winners from the first round to be from the same division. In seasons where one division is especially better than the other, the better division will be recognized.

5. The conference brings in more revenue

For all the fat cats out there who say it's about money, a conference playoff will bring in more cash with ticket sales and TV deals than a single conference championship game. Existing deals with the BCS could continue.

6. It would draw national attention as an experiment for the viability of a playoff system

Whether or not a conference championship would be adapted in the long term, it would be hard evidence in the case for a national playoff system. The impact would give us a much better idea of the feasibility of other conference playoffs and possibly a national playoff and we would see with our own eyes the interest it generates.

Feedback?

4/9/2009 3:32:49 AM

I think the bad outweighs the good here, as bad as the acc beats up on each other already. It would be too many games in a row for too many teams imo.

4/9/2009 3:40:21 AM

^ Cutting the regular season were cut back to 11 games should do the trick. "Beating up on each other" is just a part of college football.

If playing too many games is such a big deal would you advocate eliminating a championship game completely? I personally hate that the Big 10 and Notre Dame get the same BCS cred when they get more time for bowl games and I'd hate to see more conferences adopt that

[Edited on April 9, 2009 at 3:55 AM. Reason : .]

4/9/2009 3:53:09 AM

it's not the number of games total. It's the number of games consecutively played. say team one has their bye week at the beginning of the season versus team 2, 3, etc. who had their bye week closer to the end.

there would need to be an extra bye week before the first round of the playoff.

4/9/2009 4:06:49 AM

obligatory users with less than 15 posts...

4/9/2009 5:05:07 AM

When we get to 128 teams, we can just make the second half of the season a single elimination playoff!

4/9/2009 5:40:30 AM

A conference playoff doesn't make sense, at least in the ACC. It's already structured so the Atlantic and Coastal regular season champions face each other, so the outcome of that one game decides a legitimate ACC champion. It's not like anyone gets snubbed by a selection committee. Don't other conferences do the same basic thing or just go with the team that has the best record?

4/9/2009 6:22:46 AM