I think the system should be 8 teams, with the requirement that you have to win your conference or be an independent with a higher BCS ranking than a conference champ who would otherwise get into the playoffs. That would preserve the regular season greatness in games like Auburn/Alabama this year where so much was on the line. It would also give us a playoff with Stanford, Michigan State, Baylor, Auburn, FSU, UCF, and Fresno State. It would be perfect.
16. 10 Conf champs, 6 at-large. Home-field until the title game.
I don't like the idea of at-large teams in the playoffs. The regular season is the playoff, or at least that is what I'm always told. It would be sort of cool if that were actually true. Nobody would care about MSU knocking off OSU if OSU still got to go to the playoffs anyway.
I can see that, but then you'll have at-large teams anyway if "everyone truly has a shot to win it all." If conferences like the Sun Belt, MWC are going to be in the same division they deserve the same shot. If giving them that shot is too big a burden then put them in another division.
I guess you could take the 8 highest rated conference champions and seed them.