My issue is your "solution" conveniently aligns perfectly with what the money people want. You are the masses, here. Screw the little guy, make most of the games meaningless to ensure the biggest teams get the rewards at the end of the season. It's all there.
You have it all backwards.
It's not "screw the little guy" to acknowledge they are playing on an entirely different competitive plane. It's not "screw the little guy" to have the best teams that earn it make the playoff. Letting in teams with bullshit high school schedules goes against everything we know from a competition standpoint. 11-1 and your best win is New Mexico? No, sorry, that's not good enough.
Having the little guy get his head caved in every year isn't screwing him?!? How's that?!?
And "make most of the games meaningless" how?!? Its' better for all the undefeated and 1-loss teams late in the year to not give a shit if they lose, because they're in anyway? Talk about meaningless games!
I can't believe I'm getting flack for wanting teams to earn it. What set college football apart was the urgency of the regular season. That is completely gone now. I want to go back to that. We must not be speaking the same language for you to accuse me of wanting to "make most of the games meaningless."
No, that's what we have now.
And also no, it's not a good thing to have like 15 teams' fans thinking they're still in it, for 'engagement' or 'exciting' purposes. It's bullshit, watering-down of college football. It's lottery ticket thinking. Fuck that. I'm tired of catering to the dumbest, barely-interested "fans." Fuck them.
What ever happened to making your product better in order to attract more fans? Our culture has fallen into a habit of catering to the masses to bring them in, and it's detrimental. Does it work? Does it make 0.2% more money? Sure. You got me. It works.
That doesn't mean it's the best way. Being a whore to the dollar isn't the best way.