Read this tody in USA Today

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7778011/bcs-memo-lays-proposals-change-including-playoffs

I hope this gets EA Sports to include a playoff......what do you all think?

a playoff wont be in the game until its put into effect in real life. it wont be put in if its only a possibility

IDK man, I realize youre fairly sure of that, but i think that they (EA Sports) may add it if its even an idea being thrown around by the NCAA. I mean, the older versions of NCAA football have an optional playoff, so i investigated that a little bit. I found that the game was licensed by the NCAA, and there was at least one major bowl game (Orange Bowl) and i think the Rose Bowl was also included. I understand where youre coming from with a lot of things like somewhere you said the NCAA wouldnt allow users to completely remove conferences, and I even agree with you on many instances. But I dont think they would be so strict on something like an optional playoff in a video game. Especially if they are legitimately throwing the idea around.

true.....but the people who run the ncaa are blatant idiots who have made some of the dumbest decisions possible in college sports.

this is one thing that i believe the ncaa would be really * about. they've said in the past that they're committed to the bcs, but have slightly lessened their stance in at least hearing talks about a playoff.....but to actually give ea the go-ahead to implement a playoff might give the wrong impression that they dont fully back the bcs. and thats not a stance i think they're willing to show at this point.

I think it should be a playoff like basketball. Certain playoff games could be designated as bowl games. Have the top 32 teams in the contry be eligible. I would only take 5 weeks to determine the champion which is the same length of time its takes to run the bowl games.

The playoff with bowl games idea is a decent idea, but you (person above me) aren't taking into account that bowl games require two different teams, you are probably thinking...

Side A

1v16>>>1
-------------1>>>>>>
8v9>>>>8
--------------------------1
5v12>>>5
-------------5>>>>>>
4v13>>>4
------------------------------------1v2 for half of NCG
6v11>>>6
-------------6>>>>>>
3v14>>>3
--------------------------2
7v10>>>7
-------------2>>>>>>
2v15>>>2

Problem is, if you call each of those a "bowl game", you're losing half the bowls we have already (this would be 16 bowls) and it would exclude some of the conferences we don't see often (Sun Belt, WAC, MWC, MAC, etc.) And in addition, 32 teams for the national championship is a bit too wide of a select group for the title. Also, it means that Team X (we'll call them a 1 seed) could play in multiple bowl games, which seems really dumb, no offense. I liked your overall area of a playoff, so I made a 12-team system kind of like yours, but made some changes.

I've thought it through a bit, and 12 seems like a fair number for teams who legitimately deserve a shot at the title (teams in the 20's really don't deserve a title, especially since some of them didn't even finish top 3 in their conference [exception can be made with the SEC of the past few years, they have been epic.])

1v12(Loser to Cotton Bowl)
------1v7 [Loser to Orange Bowl]
6v7(Loser to Fiesta Bowl)
------------
4v9(Loser to Sugar Bowl)
-----9v3 [Loser to Orange Bowl]
3v10(Loser to Sugar Bowl
------------
5v8(Loser to Fiesta Bowl)
------5v2 [Loser goes to Rose Bowl]
2v11(Loser to Cotton Bowl)


I left that semi-final area blank because the highest seed winner of the quarterfinal games would earn a "bye" round to the National Championship Game (In the case of two undefeateds advancing, strength of schedule could be the factor as well, making it beneficial to play good opponents out of conference). This system also allows those who were eliminated to participate in whatever bowl is tied to that game, so if seed 12 lost, they would be playing in the Cotton Bowl. In this case, I'll say that the #1 seed would advance, and would earn the bye.

1 (bye)
--------------1v2 (National Championship Game)
3v2 [Loser goes to Rose Bowl]

Then we have the National Championship Game, which would probably be around the same time, or later on in the month. We'll assume that seed 2 wins.

Then the final bowls would look like this...

Cotton Bowl: 12v11
Fiesta Bowl: 6vs8
Sugar Bowl: 4vs10
Orange Bowl: 7vs9
Rose Bowl: 5vs3
Nat'l Championship Game: 1v2


Benefits:
-A true playoff including 12, which *could* represent a fair equality of conferences (keyword is could, so little teams CAN play themselves into title contention).
-Not too many teams contending for the title, so the teams that are in definitely deserved their place.
-Gives the teams who schedule hard and go undefeated perks (possibility of the "bye" round, possibly higher seeding)
-Home Field Advantage IS involved, so those teams who skated through playing mostly home games and weak away games *could* play a good team on the road.
-No Bowls destroyed in the process (so the money-hungry people stay happy ).
-Can alter seeding so every conference champion is involved in this playoff (Everyone has a chance ).
-Can expand or cut some teams out if the records are too spread out (like if a 6-7 UCLA is #13 in ranking, you could make it an 8-team or 10-team)
Biggest Plus though...

A True Champion Via Playoffs!

Downsides:
-Going to have the same issues as College Hoops, with the selection committee, and whiny people complaining that their team should make it as #12.
-One conference (looking at SEC) could dominate this playoff if they annihalate everyone they face.
-This would go on during the early bowl season, while the lesser bowl games are also on, so some schools would be pretty mad.
-Would take just as long, if not longer, than the system already in place.
-Could see a re-match in any of these games if conference affiliation is not involved in the seeding process.

What I've found is that nothing will be perfect for a national championship formula, because you cannot please everybody, someone would want this system, someone would want that system, and people will not get everything they want out of the system. But the question isn't "Is it perfect?" it is "Is this the best possible way to crown a champion?" I think this system would be one of the best options.

TL;DR : 12-team playoff wouldn't be a bad idea, it promotes home-field advantage, strength of schedule, out-of-conference schedule, and gives those who are in an underappreciated conference a shot.

The bowl games that do not make it to the bracket can be filled in with teams outside the top 32

Hey everyone! I just wanted to update you on the playoff situation. I am totally in favor of this proposal as you probably have guessed and it looks like it will be passed for the 2014 bowl season. Its a great read from fox sports, check it out!

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/bcs-takes-big-step-toward-football-final-four-042612/

There should be a 16 team playoff instead of just 4. Bowl games cane be adjusted accordingly to coincide with certain games.

Home field advantage can be over rated some times. I remeber years ago when a heavily favored Nebraska hosted Syracuse in Lincoln and the Orangemen walked away with a 10-7 win.

Then just a few years ago. Navy destroyed Notre Dame in South Bend. And even in the biggest of rivalries the away has won big. Ohio *. - Michigan, Alabama - LSU, Florida - Florida *., etc. So as often goes. Any team can win any where on any giving day. It all comes down to who is prepared the best and who wants the win the most.