College Football Playoff: What if a 16-team playoff was launched in 1936?

Here’s what the bracket might have looked like in 1936

If a bracket took root in 1936, it would have rewarded some conference champions for sure. But conference championships alone would have mattered little. That is evident in the team that the AP poll selected as its national champion, Minnesota, which lost the Big Ten title in a 6-0 loss to Northwestern that year.

Northwestern would still punch a ticket into the 1936 playoff instead of sitting at home not bowling like they really did that year. Also in the hunt for a national title would be PCC champ Washington, SWC winner Arkansas and runner-up TCU, Southern Conference leaders Duke, and Big Six king Nebraska.

Independent teams would be represented well. Prior to the formation of the Ivy League, schools like Penn and Yale were still independent powerhouses of the northeast. They would both make the field of 16, as would bowl participants Duquesne, Marquette, Santa Clara, and Pitt.

The SEC would get two schools into the mix. Champion LSU would be joined not by Auburn or Mississippi State but rather league runner-up Alabama. Rocky Mountain champ Utah State would round out the field in the first-ever first round of the playoff that could have been.

1936 Division I Football Playoff Bracket

Seeding would have been an interesting test. Going by the AP poll of the period, there would have been a lot of names familiar to modern fans at or near the top of the list of favorites. Two of the four finalists would potentially be independent schools, at a time when conferences were not nearly as important.

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In the end, though, the championship would have come down to a familiar school. With Frank Thomas patrolling the sideline instead of Nick Saban, Alabama would reach the final at the Rose Bowl and take on Minnesota. The team that finished atop the first AP poll would also be the favorite to win the first-ever playoff.