There used to be a time when college football teams’ primary focus was to win a conference championship and/or play in an elite bowl game. January 1 was a day with wall to wall bowl games with great teams. Saying you qualified for a January 1 game used to matter. I wish FBS would double down on the top bowl games and January 1 then have the “playoff” afterward. Here is what I would like to see:

1. 8 bowl games on January 1. First kickoff at 11 am Eastern. Last kickoff at 11:15 p.m Eastern. Kickoff every 1:45 in between.

The January 1 schedule would look something like this:

Citrus 11
Peach 12:45
Cotton 2:30
Fiesta 4:15
Rose 6
Orange 7:45
Sugar 9:30
Vegas 11:15

2. Every conference champ plays on Jan 1

3. Traditional bowl tie-ins are put into place

Rose- Pac 12 champ vs Big 12 champ
Sugar- SEC champ
Cotton- Big 12 champ
Orange- ACC champ

The other bowls do not have tie ins and the matchups would be determined by the committee.

4. Fill up the bowl game matchups with highest to lowest ranking. No rematches. Rotate the selection order of the 4 bowls that do not have tie ins. The 2 bowls that get the lowest ranked matchups would host the semifinal games.

Here’s how 2019 would have looked

11 am Citrus Bowl #7 Michigan (at large) vs #12 Penn St (at large)

12:45 Peach Bowl NIU (Mac champ) vs UAB (CUSA champ)

2:30 Cotton Bowl #4 Oklahoma (Big 12 champ) vs. #8 UCF (AAC champ)

4:15 Fiesta Bowl #19 Fresno St (MWC champ) vs App St (Sun Belt champ)

6:00 Rose Bowl #6 Ohio St (Big 10 champ) vs #9 Washington (Pac 12 champ)

7:45 Orange #2 Clemson (ACC champ) vs #5 Georgia (at large)

9:30 Sugar Bowl #1 Alabama (SEC champ) vs #3 ND (at large)

11:15 Vegas Bowl #11 LSU (at large) vs #12 Penn St (at large)

Highest ranked Jan 1 winners play on the playoff

Semi Finals

Glendale #2 Clemson vs #4 Oklahoma
Atlanta #1 Alabama vs #6 Ohio St

Finals played every MLK Day at neutral site.

This would shift the marketing from who makes the playoffs to who’s playing on January 1. It maintains the bowl tradition and keeps the unique nature of the college football postseason.