The 2015 college football season hasn’t kicked off yet, but it’s never too early to talk the postseason. Specifically, the College Football Playoffs, an annual debate older than the original Uga mascot at Georgia.

By all accounts, last year’s inaugural CFB Playoffs were a hit. So why mess with a winning formula, right? Plus, the current four-team format is locked in for another decade. But, it’s not like anyone in college football has ever broken a contract.

If constructing a proper College Football Playoff system were easy, we’d have settled it a long time ago. Instead we’re forced to prognosticate and bloviate about what could be.

Here is a look at a few examples how the NCAA could upgrade its College Football Playoffs:

SIX TEAMS

Six isn’t exactly the ideal number of teams for a tournament, but it’s workable if you get creative.

With six teams, we introduce the idea of a first-round bye for the nation’s top two teams. Last year, that would have been Alabama and Florida State. Going off the AP rankings, the next four teams in would have been No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Baylor, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 TCU — forever settling the Baylor-TCU debate, but likely introducing a “Michigan State got robbed” argument.

With eight viable conferences and only six playoff slots, you’d still have to use a selection committee, or the rankings, to determine the field, rather than automatic bids for each conference.

The tourney can be done in three weeks (four if we throw in a bye week prior to the title game).

Considering there are only five games in this format, the “New Year’s Six” — Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose and Sugar — could play host to a playoff game on a rotation basis. Perhaps the lone major bowl game sitting out the playoffs that particular year can host No. 7 and No. 8 in the top “non-playoff team bowl game.” That would have been Michigan State against Mississippi State this year.

EIGHT TEAMS

The eight-team playoff format is the natural, logical evolution.

A clean, traditional eight-team bracket tourney can be done in just seven games and last four weeks, including a bye before the title game.

With eight teams you could introduce the idea of limiting the playoffs to conference champions only. We’re talking one champ from the SEC, AAC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mountain West and Pac-12. That can clear up any debates and let Selection Committee members such as Condoleeza Rice go back to working on more important things. Besides, do we really want a national champion that couldn’t win its conference?

(Or, if you insist on including the MAC and Sun Belt, each Power 5 champion, at least one Group of 5 team and two other wild cards.)

By that logic, last year’s playoff teams would have included Alabama, Boise State, Florida State, Marshall, Memphis, Ohio State, Oregon and TCU. That’s a starkly different tournament than the one that a selection committee would put together.

Could the public get behind a playoff field that includes smaller markets such as Boise State, Marshall and Memphis if the brackets looked like this?

  • No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 8 Marshall
  • No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 7 Memphis
  • No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 6 Boise State
  • No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 5 TCU

16/32 TEAMS

If the NCAA wants a lesson on how to operate the logistics of a major college football tournament, all they have to do is look in their own backyard.

Lower levels such as DIII, which has practically twice as many schools as the FBS, currently operates a 32-team playoff. It takes five weeks to play and only adds three games to the winner and runner-up’s schedule. DII utilizes a 24-team field.

While 32- and 24-team tourneys are feasible, they’re likely too big for the FBS. Using the latest Coach’s Poll, Nebraska would be the 32nd team in the playoffs last year. While you could do a lot worse than Nebraska in your playoffs, a 32 or 24-team field is likely too big.

Having 16 teams qualify for the playoffs is the ideal number. It would take four weeks and contain a quality smattering of strong squads. Plus, under the AP rankings in 2014, five SEC schools — Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia and Missouri would have qualified. In fact, No. 1 Alabama would have faced No. 16 Missouri and No. 8 Mississippi State would play No. 9 Ole Miss in the first round.

The 16-team format means Round One would feature eight games and probably give the nation a collective blissful aneurysm from football overload.

THE MIKE LEACH/CHRIS WUENSCH TOURNEY

Allow me and Washington State head coach Mike Leach to dream big for a moment. After all, we’re nothing more than just another cracked pot awkwardly spouting off.

Under Leach’s plan — which he’s detailed to the media — the season would be cut to 10 games with the non-playoff teams finishing the season in an NIT-style tourney to fill out the rest of their schedules.

My plan is very similar to the Mike Leach and also includes 64 teams. A tournament of such size would take six weeks to play, which I know sounds crazy. The 2014 season ended on Jan. 12, 2015. Using the second week of January as the ballpark title game date, you can start the playoffs the first week in December, right after the regular season ends — especially if we, too, drop the regular-season slate to 10 games.

This winter there will be 41 bowl games. That’s 82 of 128 FBS teams. The 64-team plan actually eliminates 18 teams from the postseason. It still guarantees a large amount of teams their bowl game — only now, they count for something.

With 41 bowl games, each existing bowl game — save for the New Year’s Six — remains in existence. You’d need 63 games to complete the tourney, meaning there’d be an opportunity to create 22 new “bowl games.” Think of the sponsor opportunities. Bring on new sponsors and their bottomless wallets. After all, what kind of SEC fan wouldn’t get excited to watch their team compete in something called the Waffle House Bowl?

Affable quirks would develop over time, such as the No. 12 over No. 5 upset each year in March Madness. Perhaps certain bowls would be considered upset specials every year. I can hear my inner monologue now as I fill out my bracket: “I went with Vanderbilt over Clemson because the underdog always wins in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl.”

Certain schools and players would capture the hearts of the country. Think about the special teams jammer who could rise in the public’s heart to become the next Jimmer.

Problems, naturally, abound. The champ and runner-up would essentially be playing 16 games — the same number as non-playoff NFL teams. Not terrible, considering that last year’s champ Ohio State played 15, but tiring nonetheless.

Logistically and fiscally, it could be disaster for smaller schools. A Cinderella-type team might actually have to travel to its playoff games in an actual stagecoach.