re: Let me get this straight...

In my opinion, the only way to do it is to REQUIRE a conference championship to get in if you insist on keeping 4 teams. You would simply pick the top 4 out of 5 conferences and put their respective champs in.

Now, what I would love to see is an 8 team playoff with 5 conference champs plus 3 at large. That way, there really is a way to "play" for it and it gives the "wild card" teams a chance while rewarding conference champs.