This is OK, but iit clearly needs revision. Why should lower ranked teams get byes and the mid-ranked teams have the easier path? Just rank them 1-12 and go that way. And this means I don't get to cut the cable until mid-January.
Agreed, rate the top 12 teams regardless of conference affiliation. A conference championship should be just another data point in evaluating/ranking teams, not a means to an automatic bid. If they want to give the top four teams byes, and play the opening round games at the home of the teams rated 5-8, that's fine. Conference championships really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things in this day and age.
I got a real chuckle out of seeing Pitt will be playing in the bowl game in Detriot the day after Christmas. After an 8 win season, you have to figure the Pitt players/fans were looking foward to a nice, mid-level bowl in the sunny, warm South. Instead, they will have to miss Christmas at home to spend a week in a city that is likely to have worse weather/less urban charm than even Pittsburgh.
