Of all the major sports in North America, college football has been the most controversial when it comes to crowning a champion at season’s end. 

It used to be the Associated Press that named a champion. Other publications and algorithms have also crowned champions, sometimes with two teams claiming the title at season’s end. This happened during the 2003 season, when LSU and Southern California each claimed the title.

The confusion and lack of a coherent process is what led to the creation of the BCS, and for the most part, that system worked. It generally matched the top two teams in the country against each other. But it was not without faults, as rankings played heavily into the algorithms. Mid-majors were often left out, but Utah, Boise State and TCU defined the term “BCS-buster.”

Everyone knew the system could be better. The NCAA finally wised up and created the College Football Playoff, in which four playoff teams are chosen by a committee. 

The NCAA didn’t quite get it right. It needs to revamp the playoff system before things officially start.

There are going to be so many worthy teams that will claim a playoff spot. Assuming Florida State and Ole Miss or Mississippi stay undefeated, they’ll secure spots. And the other two? What’s to stop the committee from picking one-loss Alabama over Big Ten champion, and one-loss Michigan State? If there is only one spot left, would the committee choose Pac-12 champion Oregon over Michigan State, simply because the Ducks defeated the Spartans head-to-head?

So here’s my radical format for the College Football Playoff. Ready?

Eight teams. The Power Five conference winners automatically secure a seed. Three at-large bids. Done.

Here is how this playoff system would look today, based on my projected conference winners: 

One-seed: Florida State. 

Two-seed: Ole Miss

Three-seed: Oregon

Four-seed: TCU

Five-seed: Michigan State

As for the at-large bids, those can be selected based on highest rankings after the conference games. So in this case, I would choose:

Sixth-seed: Notre Dame

Seventh-seed: Alabama

Eighth-seed: Georgia 

The playoff would be seeded just like any other sport: one versus eight, two versus seven and so on. The first round would be hosted by the higher seed, with the semifinals and championship alternating between the New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day bowls, thus keeping tradition intact.  

This is not a perfect system and I realize that. Notre Dame, being the stubborn independent it is, will always feel slighted if the top five seeds are based on conference winners. Yet this could finally force them and other independents to join conferences. Mid-majors also have a better shot with three at-large bids. Choosing those at-large bids will be tricky, however, because it’s entirely possible the loser of a conference game (like the SEC’s) can get in. 

This hypothetical, eight-team system is better than having only four team. 

In every other sport, most teams have a realistic shot to win a title, save for a select cellar-dwelling teams. 

An altered playoff makes for more fairness and more football. That can’t be bad.

Erik is a senior in Media. He can be reached at eprado3 @dailyillini.com or on Twitter @e_prada.