End the regul;ar season beaing ranked at least 6th. Why?

I think the conference only schedules will cause the canibalization that has already started. I don't see many P5 teams, other than Clemson, Alabama and maybe Ohio State, avoiding 2 loses.

Just look at tAm, Florida and Georgia. They all have schedules where they could beat each other up and then trip up against a middle SEC team. 2 Losses puts anyone out of the playoff.

The Big 10 has a similar issue. Penn State already lost and if they lose to OSU, they are done. Michigan looked good, but they have several tough games this season that could cause the same issue. The same goes for Wisconsin.

Ok State has won all of their games so far, but they have struggled to do so and they still have very tough games ahead of them that could knock them out as well.

I won't go on a limb and say that BYU will make the playoff (of they go undefeated), but remember, 1984 happened due partially to some crazy circumstances that left them as the only undefeated team. I couild easily see BYU being one of the few undefeated teams left at the end of the regular season.