After last month’s meeting, the “plus-one” format seemed to be the leader of all the options presented. That model would pit the winners of two semifinal games against each other in a national championship game.
But the qualifications for the four teams that make the playoff has garnered the greatest debate. Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney and Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott want only conference champions in the semifinals.
Mike Slive, commissioner of the SEC, disagrees with his counterparts. Slive is also pushing for a playoff, but would like the four spots open to the four best teams in the country, not just conference champions.
“I’m willing to have a conversation about (only conference champions), but if you were going to ask me today, that would not be the way I want to go,” Slive said. “It really is early in the discussions, notwithstanding what some commissioners say publicly. There’s still a lot of information that needs to be generated.”
While most agree a four-team playoff is at least a good start, other options have been tossed around. Chief among those lately is from Washington State head coach Mike Leach. He wants a 64-team playoff.
“The minimum should be 16 teams,” Leach said. “I think 32 is better than 16, but I think 64 would be ideal. You could cut the regular season down to 10 games, but guarantee everybody 12 games. In the end, the champion would play 16 games.”
While a 32 or 64 team playoff would be fun, the best we can hope for is an 8 or 16 team playoff in the future. For now, a four-team playoff seems like the most likely scenario when the current BCS contract expires in 2014.