Ksquared's New College Football Regular Season/Playoff Scenario - PART II

Now that we have all of the new conferences set, the next step is to determine how the scheduling works so that every team has as much chance as every other team at making the playoffs. And actually, this is fairly straightforward.

First off, because there are 12 new conferences and we are looking for an easy 12-team playoff system (very similar to the way the NFL does it), it goes to reason that the winner, and ONLY the winner, of each conference will qualify for the playoffs. In order to make sure we have a TRUE winner for each conference, every team must play every other team within their conference.

This is scheduling point #1.

Secondly, because there are ten teams to a conference and it is a true round robin, the least amount of games a team can play is nine. Obviously, this is not enough, as a regular season in college football is usually 12 (without a conference championship). I submit that instead of 12, each team play 11 games, giving each team two games that are nonconference.

This is scheduling point #2.

With only 11 games in a season instead of 12 or 13, the season can end a little earlier (or at least at the same time in late November or early December) and the playoffs can begin sooner.

This is scheduling point #3.

The layoff between the end of the season and the continuation of play is now a much smaller window and every team will end their season at exactly the same time.

This is scheduling point #4.

The playoffs will then continue throughout December and end at the beginning of January, keeping the season the same length it is now.

This is scheduling point #5.

So let's recap. With this new regular season/playoff scenario, we have done 5 things to the scheduling of college football:

1. Every team plays every other team in their conference, giving each team the same chance to make the playoffs as every other team (money, recruiting, and size of school aside...more on that later).
2. Every team gets two nonconference games in which to continue rivalries, keep renewed interest in big games between big names not in the same conference, and create new rivalries (note that these non-conference games will have an effect on three-way tie-breakers, so they DO matter...more on that later).
3. The playoffs begin in early December, keeping the window between the end of the regular season and playoffs small, in turn keeping fan and media hype high with very little break.
4. Every team ends at the same time and thus has the same time to prepare for every game (except for teams with BYE weeks, which they will earn and deserve the extra time to prepare...more on that later).
5. The entire season, from first kick to naming a National Champion, will be the same length it is now, as most fans and pundits agree that the length is fine as it is and I don't think it needs to be messed with.

The questions that arise from this new system are many, I know, and I will get to them in good time, but for now, keep rolling with me in Part III as I explain exactly how the playoff system works and how conference champions are determined when ties are present.