Draft Huddle - NCAA Playoff Scenario

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based on the opinions and individual analysis of Draft Huddle's staff. Information processed and
presented are for projections and projection purposes only.

Draft Huddle Playoff Bracket Methodology:

The current model includes a 16 team seeding and playoff.

1) All Eleven (11) major conference champions receive automatic playoff births. The following conferences included are:
SEC; Big Ten; Pac-10; Big East; Big-12; ACC; WAC; MWC; Sun Belt; C-USA; and MAC. Seeding for these conference
champions will involve BCS rankings: overall record, strength of schedule, and if applicable, head-to-head matchups.

2) The remaining five (5) teams will be determined on a similar formula: BCS ranking - which takes into consideration
strength of schedule, overall record, and head-to-head matchups. Example: the 5 at-large teams in the scenario are:
Florida, Iowa, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and LSU. After all conference champions are properly seeded (1 through 11);
than the remaining teams considered will be seeded based on BCS ranking - essentially starting the ranking at #12.
Florida has the highest BCS ranking of the 5 at-large teams, earning them the #12 seeding. The remaining teams follow
accordingly.

**The reason we chose to provide conference champions with a higher seeding than BCS rankings is to give more value to
the regular season and conference championships. Mid-major conferences should not be penalized for being in a
Mid-major conference. Example: Troy (winner of the Sun Belt Conference) is seeded higher than Florida (ranked #5 in the
BCS). Troy is rewarded for their regular season/conference championship wile Florida is awarded with an at-large bid for
their record, strength of schedule, and BCS ranking**

3) In addition to rewarding smaller conference champions, higher seedings will have home field advantage. Home field
advantage will be decided strictly based on a teams seeding and will carry on throughout the playoff.

Prelude:

Every year once the BCS Bowl Games are announced, talks of an official playoff are discussed with many
scenarios created. This year, we have decided to participate in the discussion and create our own NCAA
Playoff Model. As of right now, the BCS is composed of 32 Bowl games, with teams being selected based
on BCS rankings and conference seedings. Our method does not look to terminate the BCS, but use its
rankings as a tool to properly seed and create a playoff system. The controversy surrounding this years
BCS bowl games revolves around two unbeaten teams: TCU vs. Boise State. Both teams have won their
respective conferences and finished the season with combined records of: 25-0. However, the BCS has
decided to match these two teams together as opposed to a "major" conference school; such as Florida.
Although this year the BCS has managed to place the two top ranked teams in the National Championship
game: Alabama (#1) vs. Texas (#2) - who is to say TCU and/or Boise State do not deserve a chance?
Providing the NCAA and sport overall with a playoff bracket similar to NCAA DII & DIII Football, the NCAA
March Madness Basketball Tournament, and the NFL Playoff system would not only provide unmatched
revenue to qualifying schools, but also (and properly) definitively find a legitimate National Champion.

                                                                                                                                               - Draft Huddle

Washington Eaminer -
Congress W ants NCAA Playoff
System!

Issued resolved with a Playoff system:

1) The main issue resolved is providing respect to Mid-major conferences and their respective teams. Currently, the way
the BCS is structured, Mid-major teams do not have an opportunity before, during, or after the season to compete for a
national championship. The strength of schedule (a heavy weighted factor) is simply not in their favor. Although, who
schools play each season can be negotiated among universities, often politics plays a role negating certain matchups.
Our playoff scenario and seeding model creates an equality, while still providing larger, "power-house" conference schools
a chance to compete even with multiple losses. Essentially, our model gives credence to a conference such as C-USA,
while giving a school such as LSU with 3 losses, a chance at the National Championship.

2) Our playoff model eliminates the several inconsistencies among final college rankings and polls. For instance, three
football polls we examined after the regular season - all ranked teams differently. Harris Interactive, USA Today, and the
BCS Computer Rankings were the three in question. Harris Interactive ranked Penn State #9; USA Today ranked Penn
State #9; but the BCS ranked Penn State #13. Additionally, both Harris Interactive and USA Today ranked TCU #3, while the
BCS ranked Cincinnati #3; TCU #4 - this very well could have matched TCU vs. Florida. Link - Fox Sports - Final Rankings
Sheet

3) Many analyst and university officials opposing a playoff system base their opposition on revenue earned and the amount
of Bowl Games (32 games) compared to a playoff system (16 games). Drafthuddle's system is not against 3rd party
involvement and/or sponsorship. If third parties wish to sponsor an individual playoff game and/or team throughout the
duration of the playoffs, that creates a win-win situation similar to any Bowl Game sponsorship: i.e. Capital One currently
sponsors the Capital One Bowl which matches: Penn State vs. LSU - Capital One can still sponsor 1st round matchup LSU
vs. Texas. This would also, and logically, provide higher revenue to both respective schools given the concept of supply and
demand: 16 games/sponsorship opportunities as opposed to 32. Link - Fox Sports - BCS Bowl Revenue Sharing
Guidelines

4) Finally, and most importantly, our playoff system defines a true national champion. No longer will the NCAA crown "duel"
and/or "shared" national championship titles. This reason alone should be enough of a driving force to create change
among the college landscape. How can two teams split a national championship among college sports - especially
football?