This is exactly right. Then, use it for 10 years without any major tweeks. See how the parity works out. Power program's rosters are smaller now. Those players would then look for places to play. Maybe some go to not power conference school. The program can be good enough to win the conference and get into the playoffs. The more that happens, the better. And, you end up with more competitive games.
Just like every other major sport out there.
Relegation is a fun concept and it works great for international soccer, but the good ole boys would have an aneurysm if it even came close to fruition. It doesn't really work with all the division, the split of FCS and FBS, and the conference format we have. Also, it would mean our beloved University would effectively be dead. Fan support would evaporated if we had to claw our way back up 3 or 4 leagues with no hope of a national title in those years, and with the current wild west format of NIL and the portal our talent would evaporated overnight.
Make the check out to me!
FWIW I agree - I think a tournament/playoff structure is the one that makes the most sense for college football, but I think people need to be more aware of what a playoff is actually for and not what they think it should be or what they want it to be.
This is where I disagree - guaranteeing every conference champion a playoff spot creates a misleading sense of fairness. In practice, it elevates teams that emerged from weaker conferences and schedules over stronger at-large contenders. Plus, the lack of consistent scheduling standards across college football means that not all conferences or teams are tested equally. At the end of the day, the playoff should be about identifying the true championship-caliber teams. Realistically, that’s only a handful (four to six, at most) in any given year, and the current system does that better than one that guarantees 90% of its seats to conference champions.
If Ohio State played against us like they did Saturday night, we could not have beaten them. I am still shocked they didn't throw more on both us and Michigan as we could not hope to cover Jeremiah Smith all day.
See, you've got the old guard mentality. Your first paragraph and the proceeding ones are at odds with each other. A playoff of champions brings teams together who have done everything they are supposed to throughout the season. Coaches and players can't control their conference or schedules, all they can do is win. You win your conference championship game you should be good enough to get a spot. End of story.
Im pretty sure the intent of a playoff system is to determine who is the best team where it matters most, on the field.
The lack of consistent scheduling standards is one of the core reasons why they expanded, outside of the clear monetary reasons. It’s impossible to create a fair playing field, and turns in to a pure subjective opinion convo, when you’re trying to pick 4 teams from what was 5 major conferences and Notre dame when very rarely do the teams in question have head 2 head results to easily say who is better than who.
I don't think my first and second paragraph are at odds - I'm acknowledging a playoff is the preferred format, we differ on how that format should work.