How would you implement a playoff system for NCAA football?

[Poiuyt]

Something that would show who clearly is the national champions, but keep the large bowls happy. Has anyone come up with a concept for a workable system (ignoring the politic for the time being).

[Angleae]

1. Simple

Pac-10, Big-10, Big-12, SEC, ACC champions, plus 3 highest ranked of the remaining play in the Rose/Orange/Sugar/Fiesta bowls, winners play following week, with remaining 2 playing national championship the week after.

[nickgutierrez]

2. 1-3 in the BCS, and one "at-large".

If there's an unbeaten team from a smaller conference, that team should get it, otherwise it'll probably fall to whoever is #4 in the rankings. The two semifinal games will be rotated among the major bowls, followed the next week by the championship game.

[Hokie]

3. I would pick the top 8 with a similar ranking system to what the BCS uses

This would require 3 weeks with 4, 2, and 1 games on consecutive weeks. I would rotate the playoff games among the bowl games. The other bowls would operate as they do now except they could choose among non-playoff teams AND first and second round losers in the new College Super Playoff, aka the CSP (I should copyright that name). The TV ratings for the CSP would be through the roof.

Bowl games would be played and before and on New Year's Day. The College Super Bowl would be played on the first Saturday after New Years Day.

[Angleae]

4. Problem with using only polls.

Is that a conference champion could be overlooked and a 2nd place team picked such as could be this year in the PAC-10 (USC higher ranked than Oregon St, yet if Oregon St beats Oregon tomorrow they go to the Rose Bowl).

[Hokie]

5. I would be OK if the conference champion always got a bid

I would include the following conference champions:

SEC
Big 10
Pac 10
Big 12
ACC
Big East

The remaining two would come from the rest using a BCS like ranking combing poll and computer rankings.

The argument that there would still be controversy over who gets in doesn't wash with me. Yes, there would be disagreement over who is 8 and 9 but that is a lot different than who is 2 or 3. I think the chances of getting the best team in the top 8 are an order of magnitude better than the current 2 team playoff system. There is controversy every year over the bottom end of the NCAA basketball tourney picks but it is more for pride than about excluding a team that has a chance.