As I have done every year since 2004, I have created a playoff bracket based on the final BCS rankings. Here's the formula:
1) All conference champions get a seed, along with the team with the best record out of the so-called Independents. These comprise 12 seeds.
2) The top two non-conference-champion teams get an at-large bid.
3) The seeding is based upon your ranking in the final BCS. Non-ranked teams are given seeds based first upon votes received for the AP and Coaches polls, then upon record, then upon strength of schedule.
4) The top two teams get a bye into the second round.
5) The major (January 1) bowls serve as the neutral fields for the playoff. The BCS bowls (now also including the Cotton Bowl) serve as the quarterfinal, semifinal and final fields. One BCS bowl gets both a semi and the final; this rotates on an annual basis.
So here you go:
Final BCS Top 10: 1) Ohio State, 2) LSU, 3) Virginia Tech, 4) Oklahoma, 5) Georgia, 6) Missouri, 7) USC, 8) Kansas, 9) West Virginia, 10) Hawai’i
Conference champions(automatic bids) and their final BCS ranking:
SEC: LSU(2)
ACC: Virginia Tech(3)
Big East: West Virginia(9, tiebreaker over Connecticut)
PAC-10: USC(7, tiebreaker over Arizona State)
Big 12: Oklahoma(4)
Big 10: Ohio State(1)
MAC: Central Michigan(NR)
Sun Belt: Florida Atlantic(NR, tiebreaker over Troy)
MWC: BYU(17)
WAC: Hawai’i(10)
C-USA: Central Florida(NR)
Independents: Navy(NR, but better SOS than Western Kentucky)
Top two BCS top-ten non-champions(at-large teams): Georgia(5), Missouri(6)
Championship game: Sugar Bowl
Semifinals: Sugar Bowl
Quarterfinals: Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl
Round One(two games each): Gator Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Outback Bowl
Round One, with numbers representing seeding rather than BCS ranking:
(1)Ohio State – bye
(2)LSU – bye
(3)Virginia Tech v. (14)Florida Atlantic in the Capital One Bowl
(4)Oklahoma v. (13)Navy in the Capital One Bowl
(5)Georgia v. (12)Central Michigan in the Outback Bowl
(6)Missouri v. (11)Central Florida in the Outback Bowl
(7)USC v. (10)BYU in the Gator Bowl
(8)West Virginia v. (9)Hawai’i in the Gator Bowl
Red and Black, Win or Lose
