I've always thought 16 teams is the magic number for an NCAA D1 football tournament. I'm not sure how we "respect" the bowls but I would certainly rather see teams like Florida and Texas play four times in December rather than Western Michigan vs. Troy.
Eliminate the conference championship games and here's what we would be looking forward to:
#16 Oregon @ #1 Alabama
#15 Georgia Tech @ #2 Oklahoma
#14 Oklahoma State @ #3 Florida
#13 Ball State @ #4 Texas
#12 Cincinnati @ #5 Southern Cal
#11 Ball State @ #6 Penn State
#10 Ohio State @ #7 Utah
#9 Boise State @ #8 Texas Tech
If the top seeds all win, think about how great the quarter-final games would be:
#8 Texas Tech @ #1 Alabama
#5 Southern Cal @ #4 Texas
#6 Penn State @ #3 Florida
#7 Utah @ #2 Oklahoma
If those four games were played on the same Saturday, it would be the greatest sports day of the year (except for that late Wednesday afternoon in May when they play the Champions League final.)
