March Madness 2019: Predicting a 64-team College Football Playoff

Besides play-in games, let’s get down to the real March Madness substance. What would a 64-team football playoff for all Division I teams look like?

This bracket is a highly imaginative take on what a playoff of 64 teams spanning all of Division I (both FBS and FCS) might look like. Of course, expansion will come slowly to the current College Football Playoff (CFP), with discussions of eight teams being truly realistic within perhaps seven years from now.

64 football teams in a playoff might be a ridiculous number, but there are some logistics that could make it happen. First, conference championship games would likely go by the wayside, and the regular-season schedule could be trimmed to 11 games (or even fewer). First and second round games could begin around Thanksgiving, with the Final Four and title game culminating in late December and early January.

To begin this bracket setup, the four CFP playoff teams are granted the four No. 1 seeds and are seeded No. 1 through No. 4 overall, a move adopted recently by the NCAA Tournament basketball committee.

There are 13 FCS conferences, and each winner would earn a bid through this system (in addition to the 10 FBS conferences). One problem in the FCS is that several of the best teams in 2018 were in the same conferences, depriving Eastern Washington, UC Davis, and South Dakota St. the chance to qualify. The remaining 51 spots are divvied up among 48 FBS teams, with 10 conference champions and 41 remaining at-large bids.

Next, the higher-seeded team would host for the first and second rounds. Then, a regional could be hosted at major bowl sites for four different sets (by region) of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. Lastly, three different BCS bowls could host the Final Four and the national title game.

Before you scoff derisively at the notion of all this, imagine if this scenario had actually unfolded at the end of the 2018 season. Stars such as Will Grier, Bryce Love, and Karan Higdon would actually be playing in postseason games that mattered instead of voluntarily sitting out to focus on NFL Draft workouts. FCS teams would get a shot at the big boys. Wouldn’t it be great to see the FCS juggernaut of North Dakota St. taking on a Big Ten team in the playoffs?

The benefits are obvious for any casual fan of NCAA’s March Madness. Imagine Cincinnati and Iowa battling it out in the 8-9 game for a shot at the No. 1 seed, Notre Dame, in the Midwest Region. Imagine seeing Georgia getting a potential shot against OU in the West Regional Final.

Imagine Alcorn St. of the SWAC getting the postseason privilege to take the field against the vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide. It’s a lot of traveling, a lot of time, and a lot of logistical headaches — but a March Madness-style college football playoff would be a golden prize for any college football fan to behold.

The rules

1. Each conference champion is granted an automatic bid to this fictitious 64-team Division I playoff.
2. Four regions will be used. First and second rounds take place at the home field of the higher-seeded team, and the Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite 8) take place at the designated major bowl game site.
3. The Final Four would rotate in three different locations per year.
4. Teams from the same conference cannot be in the same ‘pod’ of four teams.
5. The overall No. 1 through No. 4 teams would be seeded (so that the best-ranked and the second-ranked team overall would be on separate sides of the bracket).

South Region

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 16 Alcorn St.
No. 8 UAB vs. No. 9 Baylor
No. 5 Syracuse vs. No. 12 Auburn
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 13 Houston
No. 6 Fresno St. vs. No. 11 Georgia Tech
No. 3 Florida vs. No. 14 Kennesaw St.
No. 7 Stanford vs. No. 10 Troy
No. 2 Central Florida vs. No. 15 North Carolina A&T

Midwest Region

No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No 16 Nicholls
No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Iowa
No. 5 Utah vs. No. 12 TCU
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 North Dakota St.
No. 6 Northwestern vs. No. 11 Miami (Fla.)
No. 3 LSU vs. No. 14 Colgate
No. 7 Iowa State vs. No. 10 Buffalo
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 15 Wofford

East Region

No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 16 Duquesne
No. 8 Appalachian St. vs. No. 9 Wisconsin
No. 5 Mississippi St. vs. No. 12 Boston College
No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Michigan St.
No. 6 Army vs. No. 11 Virginia
No. 3 Washington vs. No. 14 Maine
No. 7 NC State vs. No. 10 Georgia Southern
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 15 Princeton

West Region

No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 16 Jacksonville St.
No. 8 Utah St. vs. No. 9 Oregon
No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 12 Nevada
No. 4 Washington St. vs. No. 13 Oklahoma St.
No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 11 Arizona St.
No. 3 Penn St. vs. No. 14 Weber St.
No. 7 Boise St. vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh
No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 15 San Diego