There is actually a very very easy solution to this which completely takes out the voters at all and lets it be decided on the field:
Right now, there are 13 conferences in D1.
Step 1 - Either every conference plays a conference title game or none of them do.
Step 2 - Every team plays the same number of games (12)
Step 3 - Every conference champion makes the playoff field (13 teams)
Step 4 - The remain 3 spots are filled by using a simple mathematical formula:
you take the average winning percentage of EVERY team in the conference and every teams opponents winning percentage. The runners up in the conferences that have the three highest averages of that formula get the final 3 spots.
You seed the teams by the conference that has the best average from that formula (so each year, the seedings of the conferences would change) and the runners up get seed 14,15 and 16.
This would do many things:
1. Force the independants (you hear that Notre Dame!) to join a conference.
2. Completely and totally take it out of the hands who people who don't
watch the games and put it in the hands of the players. You win, you have nothing to worry about.
3. Force teams to create a schedule which would put an emphasis on matchups. If you purposely play a weak non-conference schedule, then you will not be rewarded (an away game by having a lower seed in the playoffs).
