What if there were an FBS playoff...the first look.

What if there were an NCAA playoff at the highest level of college football instead of the bowl system. Here is how the playoffs would work out.

There is no Harris Poll, nor RPI, nor computer rankings at this point of the season, because teams have yet to play a game. This is based upon the pre-season polls. As history has shown, this is likely not how it will turn out in the end.

Six traditional bowls are involved in the playoff, plus I resurrected the Gotham Bowl so that the Northeast Region would get a game. This means that 5 bowl games, including the current BCS championship game would be decommissioned. The Sugar, Rose, Fiesta and Orange rotate the final for the first 12 years before other sites are permitted to bid. The bowl which hosts the previous national championship games is relegated to the quarter finals. The other two bowls host the semi-finals.

As with the FCS championships, teams with 3 or more losses are not eligible for the playoffs and teams from the same conference are not to play each other in either the first or second round games. The higher seeded team hosts the first and second round games.

Automatic Bids

ACC-Florida State
Big 12-Oklahoma
Big East-West Virginia
Big 10-Nebraska
C-USA-Central Florida
MAC-Miami of Ohio
MWC-Boise State
PAC 12-Oregon
SEC-Alabama
WAC-Hawaii
Sun Belt-Middle Tennessee

Seedings (Automatic bids are in CAPS)
1. OKLAHOMA
2. ALABAMA
3. OREGON
4. Louisiana State
5. BOISE STATE
6. FLORIDA STATE
7. Stanford
8. Texas A&M
9. NEBRASKA
10. Oklahoma State
11. Wisconsin
12. South Carolina
13. Virginia Tech
14. Texas Christian
15. Notre Dame
16. WEST VIRGINIA
17. HAWAII
18. CENTRAL FLORIDA
19. MIDDLE TENNESSEE
20. MIAMI (OHIO)

First Round Games

Game 1
20. Miami (OH) at 13. Virginia Tech

Game 2
19. Middle Tennessee at 14. TCU

Game 3
18. Central Florida at 15. Notre Dame

Game 4
17. Hawaii at 16. West Virginia

Second Round Games
Game 4 winner at 1. Oklahoma
9. Nebraska at 8. Texas A&M
Winners to play in the Cotton Bowl (Mid-West Region)

Game 1 winner at 4. LSU
12. South Carolina at 7. Stanford
Winners to play in the Gotham Bowl (Northeast Region)

Game 2 winner at 3. Oregon
11. Wisconsin at 6. Florida State
Winners to play in the Fiesta Bowl (West Region)

Game 3 winner at 2. Alabama
10. Oklahoma State at 7. Stanford
Winners to play in the Gator Bowl (Southeast Region)

Semi-Finals
Rose Bowl--Pasadena, CA
Cotton Bowl Winner vs. Gator Bowl Winner

Orange Bowl--Miami Gardens, FL
Fiesta Bowl Winner vs. Gotham Bowl Winner

Championship
Sugar Bowl--New Orleans, Louisiana

Quarter Finals
Fiesta Bowl (West)--Glendale, AZ
Cotton Bowl (Midwest)--Arlington, TX
Gator Bowl (Southeast)--Jacksonville, FL
Gotham Bowl (Northeast)--East Rutherford, NJ

Last 4 in
Notre Dame, TCU, Virginia Tech, South Carolina

First 4 out
Arkansas, Michigan State, Georgia, Mississippi State

Next 4 out
Florida, Auburn, Missouri, Texas

Also Lurking
USC, Penn State, Arizona State, Utah, Brigham Young, Iowa, Northwestern, Southern Mississippi, Arizona, Michigan, Air Force.