Been thinking about this quite a bit lately......
8 playoff teams- Conf. Champs and three wilds (one of which is the group of 5). I would also add that if you didn’t make the CCG, you can’t make the playoffs, so no SEC teams back dooring in w/o at least playing in the CCG.
I would also hold off on ranking any teams until at least 4 weeks into the season. To me, it is amazing how much rankings cloud judgement. Given our current setup, it should be no surprise that so few different teams have been in the playoff. The present formula is simple.....start the season ranked in the top 10-15 and don’t lose (which for Alabama, Clemson, OSU ....... blue bloods, is easier to do). When they do lose it is typically to another ranked team which means they don’t fall too far in the rankings and depending on the timing of the loss, they can recover and possibly get back in the playoff hunt.
I think a side benefit of holding off on the rankings would also lead to teams trying to schedule more competitive non con games early in the season.....i.e trying to “jockey” for ranking position, which would also mean fewer conf. games (which would be problematic).