Ideally, I want to see an eight-team bracket with five guaranteed spots for conference champions, but I'll take what I can get.
I even liked the concept of a committee made of people with various connections to the sport. It seems like a refreshing change from the Frankenstein-like effort the BCS made to slam together human polls and computer formulas.
Yet, just five days before the final ranking comes out that will set the first four-team field for a college football playoff, I don't like the direction they're headed.
For reference, the committee's most recent top four are Alabama, Oregon, TCU and Florida State, in that order.
To outline my complaints, I'll use my own ranking. I vote every week at www.cfbfanpoll.com, which I would recommend to anyone who is as big of a sports nerd as I am.
Here we go:
1. Florida State
Do I really think the Seminoles are definitely the best team in college football? No. Am I largely a lazy person who likes easy decisions? Abso-frickin'-lutely.
But it's more than just that. I start the year with last year's champion as No. 1 with an end goal in mind. If last year's champion goes undefeated, I want to make sure they get a shot at the title. The only way to guarantee that is by leaving them No. 1 until they lose.
We're already seeing the slide that can happen when you rank them below that, and I'm not convinced that slide will stop. If Baylor beats the absolute tar out of Kansas State this week, why wouldn't they claim a spot near TCU, a team the Bears already beat (I'll get to that later)? And you certainly can't drop any of the top three teams if they all win.
Not to mention, the Seminoles are the only undefeated major-college football team. Also, as one Ric Flair once said, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man."
Also, "WOOOOOO."
2. Alabama
Essentially since the Tide lost to Ole Miss, they've looked like the best team in the country. I don't deny that.
But to further drive home the FSU point, they're the only team that doesn't have a "since," "other than" or "besides" on their resume. And Alabama's comes at the hands of a Rebel team that has since lost to a mediocre LSU team, Auburn and 6-6 Arkansas. By a 30-0 margin.
That is not a good loss for Bama, no matter how you paint it, when compared to an undefeated defending champion.
3. Oregon
The Ducks' loss to Arizona was not a bad one, but it still came at home.
Oregon's quarterback, Marcus Mariota, also happens to be the best player whose ACL is still operational - looking at you, Todd Gurley - and that matters. Especially considering the Ducks have a shot to avenge that loss this week, they might have the most ironclad resume with a win.
4. Baylor
I can't comprehend how TCU could still be considered the choice out of the Big 12ish. I get that comparing Ohio State, Baylor and Oregon might be complicated. The three don't play each other, and usually don't have solid common opponents.
But Oregon and TCU played each other in a conference matchup, and Baylor won. Yes, it was by three points at home, but it's still a W.
It's almost like college football has relied so long on formulas, voting and guesswork that it forgot the basic unit of sports measurement: head-to-head results.
What I'm hoping is that the committee is giving us a "right now" look at their process. I'm hoping that they'll make sure FSU stays in if it wins the ACC with an unbeaten record. I'm hoping that they'll take Baylor, the team that won on the field.
But I'm concerned it won't be that simple.
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