I appreciate Kyle's well conceived arguments in favor of a traditional bowl system.  And the part of me that is concerned with the increasing commercialization of college football agrees with him.  However, since the reality is that college football is essentially a professional league, I much prefer a playoff system.  

Different constituencies will have different goals.  University presidents, for example, will likely be concerned with the impact on athlete's academic performance, revenue, and alumni relations.  

What I want is:

1.    To create exciting games
2.    To ensure that the best teams have a chance to compete for the national championship
3.    To establish a clear "national champion".

If I were in charge of the relevant policies I would make two simple changes.

1. I would shorten the regular season by two games, while allowing one preseason game and eliminating the conference championship games.  

This would accomplish a number of goals.  
First, teams like UGA could eliminate powder puff opponents like WKU and UAB.  Second, national powerhouses could play unfamiliar opponents in a preseason matchup without risking their chances of winning a national title.  Third, interested alum would have the opportunity to end their summers with visits to places like College Station, Ann Arbour, South Bend, and Pasadena.  It would almost be like a preseason "bowl".  Fifth, while the game wouldn't "count" for anything it would be a much more compelling matchup due to the caliber and novelty of opponent.  Sixth, while the conference championships often offer compelling games, the first round playoff games would be equally if not more compelling.  

2. Second I would have an eight team playoff coupled with an NIT style traditional bowl system.  

An eight team playoff ensures that the best teams will have an opportunity to win a championship on the field.  (I am unconcerned with the details of when and where playoff games will be scheduled, and leave that as an exercise for the reader - or in other words, I'm too lazy to think about it). The next best teams would be unaffected by the playoff system.  They, and their fans, would continue to enjoy great games such as this year's Emerald Nut's Bowl pairing of UCLA and Florida State.

As to the 8 team playoff, one may certainly quibble over the details.  I grant that there will be  controversy as to which team is 8th best.  Certainly one may reasonably believe that Notre Dame is a better team than Boise State.  A more sophisticated fan may argue that a different playoff system would produce a different winner.  SEC fans know well, for example, that it is not uncommon for Georgia to beat Tennessee to beat Florida to beat Georgia.  In such a case the order of pairing in a playoff would be the decisive factor.

That said, most football players, coaches, and fans are not familiar with Arrow's Impossibility Theorem and it's consequences. They do not care that every ranking system of three or more objects will tradeoff conditions of fairness and consistency.  Nor do they care that the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th best teams in college football are excluded from the playoffs.

What they care passionately about is a simple criterion of fairness: the very best teams should have an opportunity to win a championship on the field.