What would a 16-team College Football Playoff have looked like in 2021?

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith was candid in his remarks at last week’s Big Ten Media Days concerning the future expansion of the College Football Playoff, saying that there’s a lot of talk surrounding a 16-team playoff.

A 12-team proposed format had been voted down by several conferences before the Big Ten continued to shake the college football landscape with the announced additions of USC and UCLA from the Pac-12 earlier this summer.

Officials at Big Ten Media Days referred to a 16-team College Football Playoff idea gaining traction. What would that bracket have looked like from 2021?

A 16-team format includes a better possibility of automatic berths for conference champions — something that Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren argued as important for preserving the competitiveness and importance of the regular season.

This conversation seems to revolve around the power conferences only, although another interesting model would be to include each conference champion in the same way that NCAA men’s basketball does for March Madness. In this scenario, teams like Louisiana (Sun Belt), UTSA (C-USA), Utah State (Mountain West), and Northern Illinois (MAC) would displace the final four seeded teams Nos. 13-16: BYU, Oregon, Iowa, and Oklahoma.

A couple of undecided questions about the potential expanded CFP format would be the locations, the times, and the TV networks broadcasting the games.

To compile this 16-team CFP format, you’d have to look at the conclusion of the regular season and conference championship weekend (assuming that this would remain in place even with an expanded playoff bracket). All seeds listed are from the second-to-last CFP rankings that were announced after Week 15.

Maybe it would just provide a different route for Georgia and Alabama to meet up again, but this format would’ve provided some can’t-miss action and unparalleled attention for college football. What would a 16-team CFP bracket have been if it were in place for the 2021 postseason?

No. 1 Alabama (12-1) vs. No. 16 Northern Illinois (9-4)

This is one first-round matchup that seems like a snoozer. Northern Illinois defeated Kent State in the MAC title game to clinch this final CFP spot. The last time Alabama played a MAC team, it was a 48-0 defeat of the Golden Flashes in 2016. Without Group of Five champs automatically qualifying, the Crimson Tide would’ve begun their 2020 title defense with a great all-time matchup against the No. 16-ranked OU Sooners.

No. 8 Ole Miss (10-2) vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State (11-2)

OSU lost the Big 12 title game to Baylor in an excruciating fashion, but Mike Gundy and the Cowboys would have the chance to bounce back against Lane Kiffin, Matt Corral, and a Rebels squad that ended the 2021 regular season with four straight wins. Kiffin vs. Gundy in a first-round matchup for a date with Saban and Tide would be must-see TV.

No. 5 Notre Dame (11-1) vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh (11-2)

The Irish bounce back from an early-season loss to Cincinnati to take on the upstart Pitt Panthers, fresh off an ACC title — the first time in seven years that Clemson didn’t win the conference.

No. 4 Cincinnati (13-0) vs. No. 13 Louisiana (13-1)

The Bearcats would’ve made the four-team playoff anyway, but they’d still be celebrated as the highest seed from the Group of Five conferences to enter the 16-team CFP field. They take on fellow mid-major Louisiana in the first round, with the winner facing either Notre Dame or Pitt in the quarterfinals. The Ragin’ Cajuns enter as the Sun Belt champs after defeating Appalachian State in the league title game.

No. 6 Ohio State (10-2) vs. No. 11 Utah (10-3)

The Pac-12 champ vs. a Big Ten heavyweight? Let’s just host this game at the Rose Bowl, no matter what other logistical challenges may be in the way. The Buckeyes’ 48-45 win against the Utes in last January’s Rose Bowl was a thriller, and it would be just the first-round matchup in a 16-team CFP.

No. 3 Georgia (12-1) vs. No. 14 Utah State (10-3)

The Bulldogs were smarting after their SEC title game loss to the Tide — will it result in a four-game run to the national championship? The Aggies enter the CFP having defeated San Diego State handily in the Mountain West title game.

No. 7 Baylor (11-2) vs. No. 10 Michigan State (10-2)

The Bears would enter this game riding high after a Big 12 title game victory against Oklahoma State — marking the first time since 2014 that OU didn’t win the league. They’d face Michigan State, who earlier defeated in-state rival Michigan to secure its at-large spot in the 16-team team CFP.

No. 2 Michigan (12-1) vs. No. 15 UTSA (12-1)

Michigan enters the CFP as Big Ten champs and has just vanquished their archrival Ohio State at the end of the regular season. If this were not involving all conference champions, then this game would put the Wolverines with a potential first-round matchup against No. 15 Iowa, which Michigan just defeated 42-3 in the Big Ten title game weeks before. The Roadrunners enter the CFP as the C-USA champs, courtesy of a defeat of Western Kentucky in the league title game.

Last team out: No. 13 BYU (10-2)

The Cougars lost at home to Boise State in early October and had their bubble “burst,” missing the 16-team CFP field. They would, of course, vociferously claim that they deserved a shot in the postseason bracket. National commentators would also join the cause, assuring us that BYU belonged in the field instead of Pitt, Utah, or Michigan State as the final at-large bids.

BYU would then conclude that joining the Big 12 would increase its chances of reaching the 16-team CFP field.