Here is my BCS/Play-off system. It keeps the pagentry and tradition of the bowl system, but adds all the good things associated with a play-off system. It's a bit wordy, but so are the BCS's guidelines for its bowl selection process. In fact, some of what I've written is taken word-for-word from BCSFootball.org. I haven't edited it for clarity, so if anyone has a question, reply below.
The purpose of my BCS system (which is an adaptation of the "Plus one" model) is to create two semifinal match-ups, each involving either the #1 or #2 team and either the #3 or #4 team in the BCS rankings, and placing them into one of five BCS bowls - the FedEx Orange Bowl, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi, and (a bowl which will be new to the Bowl Championship Series) the AT&T Cotton Bowl. The winners of the two semifinal match-ups will advance to the BCS National Championship Game, which will be in one of the host cities of the previously stated bowls in a yearly rotation - Miami Gardens, FL; New Orleans, LA; Dallas, TX (eventually, Arlington, TX); Glendale, AZ; and Pasadena, CA.
The process consists of five steps:
1. Choosing which teams will receive automatic berths.
2. Determining which teams will match-up in the National Semifinals. The match-ups will either be #1 vs. #4 and #2 vs. #3 or #1 vs. #3 and #2 vs. #4, depending on the situation.
3. Determining provisional hosts for each semifinal game. A bowl chosen to be a “provisional” host will not necessarily end up hosting that game, however (see step 4).
4. Determining permanent hosts for each semifinal game. In this step, bowls which have gone two consecutive years (at least) without hosting a semifinal game, and who have not been chosen as a provisional host, may be able to, in some circumstances, take a match-up from a bowl which has been provisionally assigned to host of a semifinal game.
5. Selecting teams for non-semifinal games. This is also where at-large teams which did not receive an automatic berth may be granted a berth.
AUTOMATIC BIDS TO THE BCS
First, the selection process for the teams that will qualify automatically for the BCS. It is the same as the current selection process, with a few modifications, which I have highlighted.
1. The top four teams in the final BCS Standings shall play in the National Semifinals, for a shot at playing in the National Championship game.
2. The champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC will have automatic berths in one of the participating bowls.
3. If fewer than 10 teams qualify by the first two provisions, the champion of Conference USA, the MAC, the Mountain West, the Sun Belt, or the WAC as well as any independent team other than Notre Dame will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:
A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.
No more than one such team shall earn an automatic berth in any year. If two or more teams satisfy these provisions for an automatic berth, then the team with the highest finish in the final BCS Standings will receive the automatic berth, and the remaining team or teams will be in the pool of teams eligible for selection by the bowls as at-large teams.
4. If fewer than 10 teams qualify by the first three provisions, Notre Dame will have an automatic berth if it is in the top eight of the final BCS Standings.
(Provisions 5 and 6 of the current BCS selection process, colloquially called the "Kansas State rule", are omitted, because the #3 and #4 teams will receive automatic berths by provision 1, thus rendering provision 5 and 6 moot.)
AT-LARGE QUALIFICATION
I have made one small change to the requirements for being an at-large team, which I have highlighted.
If there are fewer than 10 automatic qualifiers, then the bowls will select at-large participants to fill the remaining berths. An at-large team is any Football Bowl Subdivision team that is bowl-eligible and meets the following requirements:
A. Has won at least nine regular-season games, and
B. Is among the top 14 teams in the final BCS Standings.
No more than two teams from a conference may be selected, regardless of whether they are automatic qualifiers or at-large selections
except in circumstances where more than two teams qualify by provisions 1 and 2 above (directly stated, in circumstances where a conference receiving annual automatic berth has two teams, other than the conference's champion, who finish in the top 4 of the BCS standings). Is this were to happen, the conference receiving more than two berths shall receive an additional $4.5 million payout for having a second team qualify. However, they will not receive an additional $4.5 million for any extra teams. Instead, that money will be split evenly among BCS conferences who only have one team selected to participate in the BCS.
If fewer than 10 teams are eligible for selection, then the Bowls can select as an at-large team any Football Bowl Subdivision team that is bowl-eligible, has won at least nine regular-season games and is among the top 18 teams in the final BCS Standings subject to the two-team limit noted above and also subject to the following: (1) if any conference has two or more teams in the top 14, then two of those teams must be selected and (2) from the teams ranked 15-18, a bowl can select only a team from a conference that has fewer than two teams in the top 14.
All teams ranked in the top 14, other than those from conferences which have already had two teams selected, must be included in the bowl selections.
If expansion of the pool to 18 teams does not result in 10 teams eligible for selection, then the pool shall be expanded by blocks of 4 teams until 10 eligible teams are available subject to the two-team limit noted above and also subject to the following: (1) if any conference has two or more teams in the top 14, then two of those teams must be selected and (2) from the teams ranked 15 or lower, a bowl can select only a team from a conference that has fewer than two teams in the top 14.
Note: in order to participate in a BCS Bowl game, a team (i) must be eligible for post-season play under the rules of the NCAA and, if it not an independent, under the rules of its conference and (ii) must not have imposed sanctions upon itself prohibiting participation in a post-season game for infractions of the rules of the NCAA or the rules of its conference.
SEMIFINAL PAIRING PROCEDURES
The following process will be used to determine the match-ups for the two semifinal games. The first rule will be used, if applicable. If not, the next rule will be used. If not, the process will proceed sequentially until the appropriate rule can be applied (the purpose of the first few rules is to assure the Rose Bowl will get a Big Ten vs. Pac-10 match-up as often as possible):
1. If both the Big Ten champions and the Pac-10 champions finish in the top 4 of the BCS standings, and if exactly one of those two teams are ranked in the top 2, and if at least one of the other two teams in the top 4 are not from either the Big Ten or Pac-10, the Big Ten champions shall face the Pac-10 champions in the Rose Bowl, and the other two teams (even if they are from the same conference) will play in another bowl, to be determined later.
2. If both the Big Ten champions and the Pac-10 champions finish in the top 4 of the BCS standings, and if exactly one of those two teams are ranked in the top 2, but the other two teams in the top 4 are also from either the Big Ten or the Pac-10, the Rose Bowl must choose one champion from either the Big Ten or the Pac-10 and an at-large team ranked in the top 4 from the opposing conference and those teams will play in the Rose Bowl. They may not, however choose the #1 and #2 teams to play each other, or the #3 and #4 teams to play each other. Also, if the conference champion that the Rose Bowl chooses is ranked #1, the Rose Bowl must choose the #4 team if that team is an at-large team from the opposing conference. Similarly, if the champion that they choose is ranked #2, they must choose the #3 team if that team is an at-large team from the opposing conference. Similarly, if they choose the #4 team as its conference champion representative, they must choose the #1 team if it is an at-large team from the opposing conference. The same goes for if they choose the #3 team and the #2 team is an at-large team from the opposing conference. Once the Rose Bowl has chosen its match-up, the remaining two teams (even if they are from the same conference) shall face each other in another bowl, to be determined later. The purpose of this rule is to prevent a situation where the Big Ten champion faces the Pac-10 champion in one semifinal, and the other semifinal involves at-large teams from those two conferences.
3. If a Big Ten team and a Pac-10 team (at least one of whom are the champions of there respective conference) finish in the top 4, and if exactly one of those two teams are ranked in the top 2, those two teams will play each other in the Rose Bowl. If two at-large teams from the same conference satisfy this provision, the Rose Bowl will choose a match-up of #1 vs. #4, or #2 vs. #3, whichever match-up causes a Big Ten team to face a Pac-10 team. After the Rose Bowl has chosen its match-up, the remaining two teams (even if they are from the same conference) shall face each other in another bowl, to be determined later.
4. The #1 team will play the #4 team and the #2 team will play the #3 team, so long as neither of these match-ups causes two teams from the same conference to play each other.
5. The #1 team will play the #3 team and the #2 team will play the #4 team, so long as neither of these match-ups causes two teams from the same conference to play each other
6. The #1 team will play the #4 team and the #2 team will play the #3 team, so long as neither of these match-ups causes two teams from the same conference (who also played during the regular season or in a conference championship game) to play each other.
7. The #1 team will play the #3 team and the #2 team will play the #4 team, so long as neither of these match-ups causes two teams from the same conference (who also played during the regular season or in a conference championship game) to play each other.
8. If none of the above provisions apply, the #1 team will play the #4 team and the #2 team will play the #3 team, regardless of the consequences.
PROVISIONAL LOCATIONS OF SEMIFINAL GAMES
Once the match-ups for the semifinal games have been decided, they will be placed in a provisional bowl game. The word “provisional” is used because a bowl game may lose its match-up to another bowl, if that other bowl has gone the previous two years without hosting a semifinal game. In fact, this is the only way the Fiesta Bowl will host a semifinal game, as it no longer has a specified conference tie-in. There are certain limits to this rule, however, including one that prevents the Rose Bowl from losing a Big Ten/Pac-10 semifinal match-up. All of this is outlined in the next section.
If a bowl match-up contains the champion of the ACC, Big 12, Pac-10, or SEC, that match-up will be provisionally placed in the corresponding bowls:
ACC – FedEx Orange Bowl
Big 12 – AT&T Cotton Bowl
Pac-10 – Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi
SEC – Allstate Sugar Bowl
Note: for the purpose of determining the site of a semifinal match-up, the Big Ten champion does not have a tie-in with the Rose Bowl. The champion of the Big Ten will still play in the Rose Bowl if they do not qualify for a semifinal game (and the Rose Bowl does not serve as a semifinal site). However, the only way the Big Ten champion (or any team, for that matter) will play in a semifinal game that is also hosted by the Rose Bowl is if they face a Pac-10 team. The reason for this is to allow the Rose Bowl to host a Pac-10 team as often as possible. Still, a Big Ten team should qualify for the Rose Bowl in most years, but probably less often than a Pac-10 teams qualifies for the same bowl.
If a semifinal match-up contains more than one team out of the four conference champions listed above, the corresponding bowl which has gone the longest without hosting a semifinal game shall provisionally be the host. If both bowls vying for this match-up have gone an equally long duration without hosting a semifinal game (or if neither have ever hosted such a game) the bowl whose respective conference champion has the highest ranking in the final BCS Standings shall provisionally host the game.
If a semifinal match-up does not contain any of the four conference champions listed above, the BCS bowl which has gone the longest without hosting a semifinal game (excluding the Rose Bowl and any bowl who is provisionally hosting another semifinal game that same year) will provisionally host the game. If two or more bowls are tied for the longest duration, the bowl (of those bowls which are tied) whose home city has gone the longest time without hosting the National Championship Game will provisionally host the game.
If both semifinal match-ups satisfy this criteria, the bowl (excluding the Rose Bowl) which has gone the longest without hosting a semifinal game (or, in case of a tie, the bowl whose home city has gone the longest without hosting the National Championship Game) will choose the semifinal match-up it would like to provisionally host. The bowl with the next longest duration will provisionally host the remaining match-up.
PERMANENT LOCATION FOR SEMIFINAL GAMES
Once the provisional locations for each semifinal match-up have been chosen, bowls (other than the Rose Bowl) that have gone at least the two previous years without hosting a semifinal game who were also not selected as a provisional host of a semifinal will have the right to take a match-up previously assigned to another bowl. They may not, however, choose a game which is provisionally hosted by a bowl that is either:
A. The Rose Bowl, if it has been selected to host a Big Ten vs. Pac-10 semifinal game, or
B. A bowl which has also gone the previous two years (at least) without hosting a semifinal game.
If both provisional hosts fit one of these criteria, any bowl that has gone two years without hosting a semifinal game will have to wait another year to host one.
If exactly one of the provisional hosts fit one of these criteria, the bowl which has gone more than two years without being a host shall receive the match-up whose provisional host does not fit either of these criteria. If more than one bowl has gone at least two years without being a host, the bowl which has gone the longest without being a host (or, in case of a tie, the bowl whose home city has gone the longest without hosting the National Championship Game) shall host the game.
If neither of the provisional hosts fit these criteria, the bowl which has gone more than two years without being a host shall receive the match-up whose provisional host’s home city has gone the shortest time without hosting the National Championship Game. If more than one bowl has gone at least two years without being a host, the bowl which has gone the longest without being a host (or, in case of a tie, the bowl whose home city has gone the longest without hosting the National Championship Game) shall choose which match-up it would like to host. The bowl which has gone the next longest duration without being a host will host the remaining game.
TEAM SELECTION PROCEDURES FOR NON-SEMIFINAL GAMES
The bowls that will not be hosting a semifinal game will select their participants from two pools: (1) automatic qualifiers, all of which must be selected, and, (2) at-large teams, if fewer than 10 teams qualify automatically. The following sequence will be used when establishing pairings:
1. Unless they qualify for the semifinals, the champions of selected conferences are contractually obligated to play in selected bowls (assuming that bowl is also not a semifinal host):
Atlantic Coast Conference – FedEx Orange Bowl
Big Ten Conference – Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi
Big 12 Conference – AT&T Cotton Bowl
Pac-10 Conference – Rose Bowl Game presented by City
Southeastern Conference – Allstate Sugar Bowl
If one or more of these conference champions are contractually obligated to play in a bowl which is already hosting a semifinal game, that team (or those teams) will be added to the at-large pool, along with the Big East Conference champion.
2. If the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl is not serving as a semifinal host, it will have the option of choosing one of the following teams, or passing on taking any of them (passing on a team does not bar the Fiesta Bowl from choosing that team on a future step of the selection process):
A. Any BCS Conference champion that has not yet been placed in a bowl;
B. Any champion of Conference USA, the MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, or WAC which is eligible to play in a BCS bowl game. If 10 teams receive automatic bids, the Fiesta Bowl may not choose any such team that did not receive an automatic bid;
C. Any independent team which is eligible to play in a BCS bowl game. If 10 teams receive automatic bids, the Fiesta Bowl may not choose any such team that did not receive an automatic bid.
3. If a bowl loses a host team to the National Semifinals, then such bowl shall select a replacement team from among the automatic-qualifying teams and the at-large teams before any other selections are made. If more than one bowl loses a host team to the National Semifinals, each bowl will get a replacement pick before any other selections are made. In such case, the bowl losing the No. 1 team gets the first replacement pick, and the bowl losing the No. 2 team gets the second replacement pick, and so on. If the Rose Bowl loses both the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions to the National Semifinals, it will receive two replacement picks.
A bowl choosing a replacement team may not select any of the following:
A. A team in the National Semifinals;
B. Any team which has previously been selected to play in another bowl;
C. When more than one bowl loses a host team, then the bowl losing a higher seeded team may not select a replacement team from the same Conference as a lower seeded team, unless the bowl losing the lower seeded team consents.
4. If the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl is not serving as a semifinal host and it does not utilize step 2 of this process, it shall fill one of its two slots with a team selected from the automatic qualifiers and/or at-large teams.
5. After steps No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 have been completed, any bowl with an unfilled slot shall select a team from the automatic qualifiers and/or at-large teams in the following order:
A. The bowl which has gone the longest duration without hosting a semifinal game
B. The bowl which has gone the second longest duration without hosting a semifinal game.
And so on, until all slots have been filled. In case of a tie, the Bowl whose first selection is ranked lower in the final BCS Standings shall pick first.
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