The automatic bye for the top 4 champs takes some power and control away from the committee - which is a great thing. It also requires non-champs to prove that they belong in Round 1 - which is a great thing.

But, to give the #3 and #4 seed (this year, the #9 and #12 teams) so much preference in the quarterfinals ends up hurting the #1 and #2 seeds. That should never happen.

Think about it - the #5 and #6 seeds (the #3 and #4 ranked teams) got much better quarterfinal matchups than the #1 and #2 seeds (also the #1 and #2 ranked teams). Travesty!

Should have been #1 Oregon v. #12 ASU in the Rose Bowl and #2 Georgia v. #9 Boise State in the Sugar Bowl.