Eleven Team College Football Playoff System

This year's college football playoff headed in the right direction, but didn't go far enough. I propose having 11 teams in the playoff, with the five power conferences receiving automatic byes into the quarterfinals and 6 at-large teams playing in the first round. This rewards teams for winning their conference, and earning a bye into the quarterfinal round.

I propose shortening the regular season from 12 to 10 games with two bye weeks during the regular season. Most teams play cupcakes anyway. So, let's eliminate these games. With a 10 game schedule, teams will play eight conference games and two non-conference games. This forces teams to play quality games with a limited non-conference schedule. I also propose teams having up to two pre-season games. The smaller schools and schools outside the "Power Five" will be paid for these games.

The pre-season games will be held the first two Saturdays in August. The regular season games will be held starting the the third Saturday in August (with games to kickoff the season being played on Thursday) and ending the second Saturday in November. The conference championships will be played the third Saturday of November. The at-large games will be played the fourth Saturday in November. The quarterfinal games will be played the third Saturday in December. The semifinal games will be played on New Year's Day. The championship game will be played exactly on Jan. 8. This enables players to have time off for final exams, rest after the conference championship games, and to go home during Thanksgiving and the Holiday season.

For this example, I will refer to the final college football rankings prior to bowl season in 2014. My version of the college football playoff is as follows:

For the at-large games, the highest ranked team will play in a site closest to home.

At-Large (1st Round Games) (11/22)
(8) Michigan State defeats (9) Mississippi
(6) TCU defeats (11) Kansas State
(10) Arizona defeats (7) Mississippi State

As a result, the loser of these games along with Boise State, who was the highest ranked team outside of the Power 5 schools, will play each other in the Cotton and Peach Bowls.

Cotton Bowl (1/1)
(20) Boise State vs. (9) Mississippi

Peach Bowl (12/31)
(7) Mississippi State vs. (11) Kansas State

For the quarterfinal games, the highest ranked teams will play in a site closest to home. The four sites will be the home of the former BCS bowl games: New Orleans, Miami, Glendale, and Pasadena. The losers of the games will play in the Orange and Fiesta Bowls

Quarterfinal Games (12/20)
(1) Alabama defeats (8) Michigan State in New Orleans.
(2) Oregon defeats (10) Arizona
(6) TCU defeats (3) Florida State
(4) Ohio State defeats (5) Baylor

Orange Bowl (12/31)
(3) Florida State vs. (10) Arizona

Fiesta Bowl (12/31)
(5) Baylor vs. (8) Michigan State

The semifinal game will use the current model of two bowls with the winners facing each other in the national championship game.

Sugar Bowl (1/1)
(4) Ohio State defeats (1) Alabama

Rose Bowl (1/1)
(6) TCU defeats (2) Oregon

National Championship
(4) Ohio State vs. (6) TCU

The New Year's Day Six games will be played on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The bowl games can  use bowl tie-ins to determine the match-ups of the losers of the games. The SEC has tie-ins to the Sugar (primary) and Orange (secondary) Bowls. The ACC has tie-ins to the Orange (primary) and Sugar (secondary) bowls. The Big-12 has tie-ins to the Sugar (primary) and Fiesta (secondary) bowls. The Pac-12 and Big-10 have tie-ins to the Rose (primary) and Fiesta Bowls (secondary).

Will this scenario happen? Probably not. I like this system and it could work if given a proper chance. The student-athletes should have a voice in these schedules and be allowed to vote on whether or not they would like it.