Sportz Assassin's 2018 College Football Playoff

While I love the College Football Playoff over the BCS, the Bowl Alliance and anything else we had, I still wish there more teams involved.

Go ahead and debate why my dream wouldn't work or would be logistically horrible but do it elsewhere.  This is a magical place where unicorns dance in the clouds with gummy bears jumping from here and there. I'd like a 12-team playoff where the champions of the Power 5 each get in as well as the highest ranked non-power conference champ gets in. The other six slots go to at-large teams that we determine by using those CFP rankings.  And we also use those rankings to seed the schools. My only caveat is to not have teams from the same conference play in the first round.

The first two rounds are played on campus. I like that because it (a) is a lot to ask fans to travel to three or four neutral sites to watch games plus it is a reward for finishing with a top seeding. The semifinals could use those rotating bowl games with the title game being bid on like they currently do.

In fact, if the teams wanted to do so, you could use the other New Year's Six games to host the teams that lost in the first two rounds. Since the Rose and Sugar Bowl host the semifinals this year, they get the losers of the first round next year. The Orange and Cotton Bowls (which host the semis next year) host the losers of the second round this year.  Then the Peach and Fiesta Bowls host the first round losers this year and the second round losers next year.

So, here is my playoff teams, according to my eligibility requirements: 

1-Clemson (ACC Champion)
2-Oklahoma (Big 12 Champion)
3-Georgia (SEC Champion)
4-Alabama
5-Ohio State (Big Ten Champion)
6-Wisconsin
7-Auburn
8-USC (Pac 12 Champion)
9-Penn State
10-Miami
11-Washington
12-UCF (highest ranked Group of Five champion)

The first round would go as such with a full Saturday slate of games. Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama would get byes.

12-UCF at 5-Ohio State (12pm)
11-Washington at 6-Wisconsin (4pm)
10-Miami at 7-Auburn (4pm)
9-Penn State at 8-USC (8pm)

The losers of these games would then be picked for the Peach and Fiesta Bowls. The following week, here would be the matchups:

Auburn/Miami at 2-Oklahoma (12pm)
Wisconsin/Washington at 3-Georgia (4pm)
USC/Penn State at 1-Clemson (4pm)
Ohio State/UCF at 4-Alabama (8pm)

The losers of those games will go to the Cotton and Orange Bowls. The following week would be the semifinals (at the Rose and Sugar Bowl) with the championship a week later at a neutral site.

So let's act as chalk happens and the higher seeded teams win each game.  Here is how it would look:

WEEK 1
UCF at Ohio State
Washington at Wisconsin
Miami at Auburn
Penn State at USC

WEEK 2
USC at Clemson
Auburn at Oklahoma
Wisconsin at Georgia
Ohio State at Alabama

WEEK 3
Alabama vs Clemson (Sugar)
Georgia vs Oklahoma (Rose)
Miami vs Penn State (Peach)
Washington vs UCF (Fiesta)
Ohio State vs Auburn (Orange)
USC vs Wisconsin (Cotton)

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Clemson vs Oklahoma