4 seems to be working in the sense that we haven't had many, if any, examples of a team being left out that everyone thought might be the best team in the country.  

I think 8 could work (5 major conference championship + 3 more with maybe one of those 3 being best non major team).  The downside is the more you expand the playoffs, the less meaningful regular season games become.  We've already seen that with the expansion to 4.  The biggest games have lost a little luster.  Two years ago when undefeated Bama played Auburn at the end of the year and lost, you knew the game didnt really matter for Bama.  This years LSU-Bama game, meant more for Bama.  LSU losing that game on the road probably wouldnt have knocked them out of the playoffs.  Had more meaning for Bama but they are still right there.  Penn St losing to Minnesota last week didnt really do much to derail them as if they win out (beating OSU and then rematching Minnesota in the Big10 title game) realistically they are in.  Same with Georgia losing to South Carolina.  Their season doesnt really change with that loss.  

Anything more than 8 and you may as well not even have a regular season.  LSU, Alabama, Ohio St, Penn St, Oklahoma, etc... they are all in.  Conference championship games become essentially meaningless.  The LSU-Bama game  this year would be meaningless.  The Ohio St - Penn St game in two weekends becomes basically meaningless.  I suppose Penn St losing could knock them out but probably not.  It would be too much like the NFL.  I know the Patriots, Ravens, Niners, etc... are making the playoffs this year.  Not being a fan of either team, why would I have any interest in their remaining regular season games?  Am I supposed to care if they get homefield advantage or what their playoff seeding is?  I don't.  Just fast forward me to the playoffs at this point.

Except having 8 doesn't diminish the regular season at all. It just allows for the SEC bias to be diminished and gives another team a shot. What if Baylor, Clemson, OSU and LSU run the table? Are all 4 in? So that leaves out 1 loss Bama, 1 loss Oregon, 1 loss Georgia?

You guys have both spotted the problem of pro-SEC bias.
But there's two simple solutions staring you in the face: 1) only the SEC champ gets in, essentially one spot per conference.
2) let an algorithm that doesn't consider last year's results pick the playoff teams - no humans, no bias.

And you're both like, nah, it's either leave it alone or add four more teams.

I also think judging the current system by "we haven't had many, if any, examples of a team being left out that everyone thought might be the best team in the country" is laughable.  "Everyone" has to think so?! The system works until we have unanimous agreement among the tens of millions of college football fans that it doesn't work?! To me, the CFP was created to eliminate shared titles.  And it hasn't, as 2017 shows. 

The simple solution is to go back and say, did they pick the right four teams in 2017?  Colley Matrix says they should have picked Clemson, UGA, UCF, and Wisconsin.  Conference championship games say they should have picked Clemson, UGA, UCF, and Ohio State.   But they invited Bama and Bama won their invitational.  You say, that proves me wrong - how can I argue that the team that won the invitational shouldn't have been invited?  Easy.  You admitted yourselves, the game at Auburn that year was meaningless for Bama.  But if Bama knew that they needed either a conference championship or a high algorithm ranking to get in, it would not have been a meaningless game.  They would have tried harder. They would have gotten to the SEC championship, and won it. The result would have been a 4 team playoff of Clemson, Bama, UCF, then some team that wasn't undefeated.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

Except having 8 doesn't diminish the regular season at all. It just allows for the SEC bias to be diminished and gives another team a shot. What if Baylor, Clemson, OSU and LSU run the table? Are all 4 in? So that leaves out 1 loss Bama, 1 loss Oregon, 1 loss Georgia?

Realistically an 8 team playoff would have the 5 big conference champs plus 3 at large w/ one possibly being from a smaller conference.  In that case the LSU-Bama game this year really would be meaningless as the loser would be assured a spot barring an additional unexpected loss.  Decent chance the Baylor-OU game this weekend is really just gonna be a warmup to their Big12 title game re-match.  And then of course any big out of conference game doesnt carry much weight anymore (which may be a good thing as we might see more big games if losing it doesnt hurt you).  Sure you'd want to win the game in the event you need an at large spot but if you lose, you still control your own destiny.  

Not sure if your question is related to a 4 team or 8 team playoff but lets say we have an 8 team playoff and Baylor, Clemson, OSU, and LSU run the table and win their conferences.  All 4 are obviously in.  Then the Pac 12 champion makes it.  To make it interesting lets say both Oregon and Utah run the table so the winner gets the automatic spot and the loser finishes the year with 2 losses.  So we got our 5 champions Baylor, Clemson, OSU, LSU, and lets say Oregon.  Who get the 3 at large?  Maybe you give one to the best small conference team.  Not any obvious good ones this year or deserving of a spot but lets say you guarantee them one.  Probably the winner of the AAC would have the best chance.  Cincinnati vs whichever of SMU / Memphis / Navy win the other division.  So lets say you give it to Cincinnati.  Now you've got 2 at large left.  Alabama is basically a lock barring an upset against Auburn.  So who gets the final spot?  2 loss Georgia with a terrible loss to SC?  2 loss Penn St who lost their two biggest games?  2 loss Utah?  2 loss Florida?  A potential 1 loss Minnesota if they run the table in the regular season and lose to Ohio St in the Big10 championship game essentially making the Big10 title game worthless?  Do any of those teams really deserve a chance?  Changing up our initial scenario with Baylor running the table, lets say OU beats them in the regular season but loses to Baylor in the championship game.  OU would have 2 losses and just as much of an argument as the other at larges.  How many big games a year do these teams play?  4 or 5?  So you lose half of them and are still in the running for the playoffs?  Obviously diminishes the regular season.  And this is only 8 teams.  Imagine if we expanded even further to 16.  Might even be worse than the NFL regular season.  All those teams I just mentioned would be locks.  And we'd be coming down the stretch of the regular season waiting to see if 7-2 Wisconsin slips up against Nebraska or if 7-2 Michigan keeps it close against Ohio St, would they solidify their playoff berth.  Just like the NFL, at that point just fast forward me to the playoff.  Unless you're a fan of that particular team or a compulsive gambler, no point caring about the regular season.

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Scouting well is all that matters.  Draft philosophy is all fluff.

Why do I get the feeling that if more weeks are added to the season to expand the playoffs, more blue-chip/NFL bound players will sit out bowl games in even larger numbers?

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Jaguars Fundamentalist

I would make it Power 5 champs and add 3 teams so no byes.

Conferences then need to move to add teams and play a 4 team conference championship.
All games need to be against power 5 teams.

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I would make it Power 5 champs and add 3 teams so no byes.

Conferences then need to move to add teams and play a 4 team conference championship.
All games need to be against power 5 teams.

Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk

I just don't agree with adding weeks.
Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, all play outdoors and it's cold enough at the end of the college football regular season.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.