The BCS dodged the bullet again when Michigan State knocked Ohio State off in the Big Ten title game avoiding the debate of an undefeated Big Ten champion who played no one vs. a one-loss SEC champion who played everyone in Auburn.


The actual disaster would have been in next year's four-team playoff format. Florida State, Auburn, and Alabama all would have been in. But, how would the fourth team have been chosen? You could have made a case for Michigan State (the probable winner), Stanford, Baylor, Ohio State, Missouri, and South Carolina.

My system with a 16-team playoff would have given all of those teams and many other deserving teams a shot at the the national title. Here's how the final bracket would've ended up.


First, a recap of my playoff rules:

Rule #1: All conference champions are in the playoff, provided they are in the top 25 of the final BCS standings.

Rule #2: No conference members may play each other in the first round.

Rule #3: Notre Dame or other independents get an auto-bid provided they are in the BCS top 16.

Rule #4: The Championship game will always be played on New Years' Day.

Rule #5: (Added in 2011) Just because you are a BCS conference doesn't mean your champion gets a bid, they must still be in top 25. (Sorry, 2012 Big Ten conference)


2013 Playoff Schedule

1st Round:

Friday, Dec. 6th (4 games) and Saturday, Dec. 7th (4 games)

Quarterfinals:

Saturday, Dec. 14th (4 games)

Semifinals:

Saturday, Dec. 21st (2 games)

National Title Game:

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014


First round games would be played at the higher seed. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and National Championship game would be played at rotating neutral sites using the current bowl cities. Those cities are Phoenix (Fiesta), Miami (Orange), New Orleans (Sugar), Pasadena (Rose), San Diego (Holiday), Dallas (Cotton), and Jacksonville (Gator).

All spreads are formulated using Jeff Sagarin ratings and adding 3 points for home-field.


Woody Hayes Bracket

1) Florida State (ACC Champion, #1 BCS, last week #1)

16) Fresno State (MWC Champion, #20 BCS, last week #16)

Spread: Florida State -35

8) Missouri (At-large, #8 BCS, last week #5)

9) Oregon (At-large, #10 BCS, last week #12)

Spread: Pick'em!

4) Michigan State (Big Ten Champion, #4 BCS, last week #10)

13) Oklahoma State (At-large, #13 BCS, last week #6)

Spread: Michigan State -5.5

5) Stanford (PAC-12 Champion, #5 BCS, last week #7)

12) Oklahoma (At-large, #11 BCS, last week unranked)

Spread: Stanford -13

Bo Schembechler Bracket

2) Auburn (SEC Champion, #2 BCS, last week #3)

15) UCF (AAC Champion, #15 BCS, last week #15)

Spread: Auburn -17

7) Ohio State (At-large, #7 BCS, last week #2)

10) South Carolina (At-large, #9 BCS, last week #8)

Spread: Ohio State -4.5

3) Alabama (At-large, #3 BCS, last week #4)

14) Arizona State (At-large, #14 BCS, last week #11)

Spread: Alabama -11.5

6) Baylor (Big 12 Champion, #6 BCS, last week #9)

11) Clemson (At-large, #12 BCS, last week #13)

Spread: Baylor -7.5

There are two schools switched due to the conference member rule. South Carolina couldn't play Missouri, so they swap places with Oregon. Oklahoma couldn't play Baylor, so they flip places with Clemson. None of the top eight lost their home playoff game under the rule.


Northern Illinois' loss in the MAC title game is Arizona State's gain as they become the last at-large team. The Huskies most likely would've stayed at #14 if they had beaten Bowling Green. Instead their #23 ranking isn't enough for an at-large.

The biggest jump goes to Michigan State who grabs a 1st round home game along with being the Big Ten champion. The biggest drop number-wise (besides Northern Illinois) is Ohio State who falls from #2 to #7, but South Carolina might've had the biggest drop losing their 1st round game to take on the Buckeyes in the 7-10 matchup.


Conference Breakdown

SEC: 4

Pac-12: 3

Big 12: 3

ACC: 2

Big Ten: 2

Mountain West: 1

AAC: 1

Well that just looks and seems pretty balanced to me.

"Snubbed"

#16 LSU

LSU is the only school in the actual top 16 of the BCS standings that doesn't make the bracket. They lose their spot to Mountain West champion, #20 Fresno State. Then again, LSU's departure means there are no 3-loss teams in the playoff.


That'll do it for this years hypothetical bracket. Who do you think would end up the champion and who could be the football cinderella? I'd take Florida State and South Carolina (going through Ohio State and Auburn into the semifinals) as my picks.

You can even simulate this playoff here. The simulation I ran had #6 Baylor over #5 Stanford for the title 24-22, with South Carolina, Oklahoma State, and Arizona State (over Alabama!?) upsets.