College Football Playoff: 8-team simulated bracket

8-team simulated College Football Playoff: Who wins?

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: A general view from up high at mid-field during the open drive of the Clemson Tigers against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. The Clemson Tigers defeated The Alabama Crimson Tide 35 to 31. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

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TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 09: The College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy awaits its presentation after the College Football Playoff National Championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers on January 9, 2017, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. Clemson won the game 35-31. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

If there was an 8-team College Football Playoff system, how would it look in 2017?

After 13 weeks of college football and one Conference Championship Weekend, the final College Football Playoff Rankings were revealed. This determined who will make the College Football Playoff, along with the other 21 teams that fill out the top 25.

Conference Championship Weekend turned into a quarterfinal for the rankings, as the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC Championship Games had the chance to unofficially determine who will be in the top four. That’s due to Clemson, Auburn, Oklahoma and Wisconsin taking No. 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively, entering Saturday’s action.

However, after Auburn and Wisconsin lost, that changed the landscape of the four best teams in the nation. Especially after Sunday afternoon’s announcement, with Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama making the playoff.

With how chaotic the final weeks of the season were, it raised the question of, if four is too small a number for the playoff field? Teams like Penn State, TCU, USC, Wisconsin, Auburn and Miami were all around the top 10 in November and had a case to be a top-four team at some point. Maybe not on Saturday but previously.

For the upcoming playoff, with the rankings official, let’s say there was an eight-team playoff in place. It would be 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5. How would this play out? Which teams make it to the National Championship Game?

If this system was in place, let’s see how the top eight teams would work in head-to-head matchups, determining a National Champion.

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