Just for fun, a UHND.com visitor's proposed playoff system for college football:

Overview: 2 SUPER-ALLIANCES ~ 4 ROUNDS

16 TEAMS ~ 8 TEAMS PER ALLIANCE

7 MAJOR BOWLS ~ 3 CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

Alignment: WESTERN COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL ALLIANCE

Pac-10/Big Ten/Big 12/Mountain West/WAC/Sun Belt

Rose Bowl~Fiesta Bowl~Holiday Bowl

EASTERN COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL ALLIANCE

ACC/SEC/Big East/Conf. USA/MAC/Major Independents

Orange Bowl~Sugar Bowl~Peach Bowl

1^st Round: HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

(Saturday after collegiate conference championships)

WESTERN ALLIANCE—The 4 highest ranked conference

champions, seeded #1-#4, stay home to host the 4 remaining highest

ranked teams, seeded #5-#8, in reverse order.

EASTERN ALLIANCE—Same as above. For balance, the major

independents take the place of a 6^th conference, and the highest ranked

independent that of a conference champion.

2^nd Round: NEW YEAR’S ~ 4 MAJOR BOWLS

WESTERN ALLIANCE—The 4 advancing teams are reseeded

#1-#4. #1 & #2 host #3 & #4, in reverse order, in the Rose Bowl

& the Fiesta Bowl. Pairings alternate bowls yearly.

EASTERN ALLIANCE—Same as above, in the Orange Bowl

& the Sugar Bowl.

3^rd Round: SUPER-ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Mid-January)

WESTERN ALLIANCE—The 2 advancing teams are reseeded

#1 & #2. #1 hosts #2 in the Holiday Bowl.

EASTERN ALLIANCE—Same as above, in the Peach Bowl.

(Late January)

WESTERN ALLIANCE CHAMPIONS

vs.

EASTERN ALLIANCE CHAMPIONS

Rotated among these 6 bowl venues, alternating yearly between Western

& Eastern sites. Western CFA Champs host Western finals & Eastern

CFA Champs host Eastern finals.

The purpose of this plan is to provide a balanced playoff system that is fair and open to all NCAA Division IA schools and conferences. In light of 9/11, and the long-term impact on all of US, the FREEDOM BOWL would be appropriate for the National Championship, wherever the game is played. Time between rounds allows student-athletes to maintain academic requirements, if classes are in session, and better enables fans to make travel plans. Conference champions earn first round, home field advantage, because a conference championship is real, whereas a ranking alone is a collective guess, at best. After round one, eight quality teams are available for other, non-tournament bowls.