Wish they would take each conference winner and then as many at large bids they want to give out.
The only issue with this is the number of teams. Even if we assume the 2PAC and MWC combined into the MWC2PAC, you'd have a full NINE playoff slots (64% of 14) filled by autobids. That only leaves 5 slots for at-large bids, and that won't be nearly enough to appease the Power 4 monster.
I ran through a simulation -- way too long and complicated to share here -- in which I assigned all teams to their 2025 conferences, then ranked them according to an average of the CFP and three arbitrarily chosen computer ratings. Then I assigned autobids and at-large bids based purely on those rankings.
With 14 playoff teams and 9 autobids, you'd end up with something like this:
1 - Michigan (B10 Champ)
2 - Washington
3 - UGA
4 - Alabama
5 - Texas (SEC "Champ")
(Based on head-to-head with 2023 SEC Champ Bama.) 6 - FSU (ACC Champ)
7 - Ohio State
8 - Oregon
9 - Arizona (B12 "Champ" - #15)
(Based on highest ranked team.)10 - Liberty (CUSA Champ - #24)
11 - Oregon State (MWC2PAC "Champ" - #25)
(Based on highest ranked team.)12 - troy state (SBC Champ - #27)
13 - Tulane (AAC "Champ" - #29)
(2023 champ SMU moved to the ACC.)14 - Toledo (MAC Champ - #33)
That's six teams who'd be leapfrogged by conference champions, and it's kind of an impressive list:
#9 Ole Miss (SEC)
#10 Missouri (SEC)
#11 Penn State (B10)
#12 LSU (SEC)
#13 Oklahoma (SEC)
#14 Notre Dame (ind.)
The worst of this isn't that some "power" teams would get left behind in favor of the likes of Toledo and Tulane. It's that two of them would be TOP TEN teams, and based on how these particular two performed late in the season, both would have a solid, non-zero probability of winning the natty in a playoff.
So we have two options: limit the number of autobids or expand the playoff. Again.
If we bring it to 16, Ole Miss and Missouri move in and the rest of the lineup shifts down accordingly:
1 - Michigan (B10 Champ)
2 - Washington
3 - UGA
4 - Alabama
5 - Texas (SEC "Champ")
(Based on head-to-head with 2023 SEC Champ Bama.) 6 - FSU (ACC Champ)
7 - Ohio State
8 - Oregon
9 - Ole Miss
10 - Missouri
11 - Arizona (B12 "Champ" - #15)
(Based on highest ranked team.)12 - Liberty (CUSA Champ - #24)
13 - Oregon State (MWC2PAC "Champ" - #25)
(Based on highest ranked team.)14 - troy state (SBC Champ - #27)
15 - Tulane (AAC Champ - #29)
(2023 champ SMU moved to the ACC.)16 - Toledo (MAC Champ - #33)
The problem here is, you either give two rounds of byes and add an additional week to the playoff (five weeks total, with a 1st round, 2nd round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Championship Game), or you get rid of ALL byes, play a four-week playoff, and force Toledo to face Michigan in a first-round game absolutely no one wants to watch. (Though it would've been fun watching troy state play UGA...)
In fairness, other than the additional week, the five-week plan gets you some intriguing matchups in the first and second rounds, such as #13 Oregon State at #12 Liberty, or the potential for Missouri at Ohio State and Ole Miss at Oregon in the second round. Those games would be FAR more watchable than Michigan-Toledo.
The other benefit of a 16 team playoff with 9 autobids is that all ten Top 10 teams would make the playoff. If that doesn't lend importance to the regular season, I don't know what does.
If we don't expand the playoff to 16 teams, though, limiting autobids is the only way forward. One way or another, someone is going to get screwed.
Looking at the rankings of the non-P4 champions, you don't really have a clear weak link. MAC champion Toledo is ranked #33, which isn't *terrible* considering the best G5 ranking is Liberty at #24. You wouldn't want to put in a restriction that the G5 champion has to be in the Top 25 to claim the autobid, since it would be far too easy for ranking services and polls to (purely coincidentally) drop all (or most) G5 teams from the Top 25, opening up more slots for the Power teams.
So I think you'd have to put a hard limit, kind of like the current one, but with more slots. In a 14 team playoff, four G5 autobids would guarantee a playoff bid for every Top 10 team. This means the two lowest ranked G5 champs would be left out. So out with the AAC champ (#29 Tulane) and the MAC champ (#33 Toledo) and in with #9 Ole Miss and #10 Missouri.
Granted, #11 Penn State, #12 LSU, #13 Oklahoma, and #14 Notre Dame would still be unhappy. If they cap G5s at four and expand the playoff to 16, Penn State and LSU would sneak in, while Oklahoma and Notre Dame would still be stuck outside looking in. But as I said, one way or another, someone is going to get screwed.
I should add, in my my sim, the first round, second round, and Quarters are all played ON CAMPUS at the highest ranked team's stadium. This guarantees that all participating teams (other than the bottom four) get to host at least one playoff game. It's a nice consolation prize for having to play so many games. This is something they need to do regardless, in ANY expanded playoff scenario.
