So when we talk playoff expansion, here's some of the main talking points for both sides of the argument:
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Pro-expansion:

-Not every team has access to the playoff.  We are now in the 7th season of the playoffs, and only 13 programs have been in it.  (That number includes first-time programs Cincinnati and Michigan)

-The majority of teams in the country do not control their own destiny for making the playoff, from week 0.

-More football is good.
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Against-expansion:

-It makes the regular season less exciting.  If the top 12-16 teams get in, losses won't matter much to the elite programs.

-Too many games?
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Obviously, these concerns are often at odds with each other.  How can you expand access to more teams without making regular season games less critical?

I believe there is a rarely-considered solution that threads the needle, satisfying both of these concerns.  It adopts more of a basketball March Madness approach.  Here's the details:

- A 12 team playoff, with the top 4 teams getting a bye.
- Home games for the higher seed in the first 2 rounds.
- All 10 conference champions (yes, even the Sun Belt and MAC) get auto-bids
- 2 at large teams gain entrance using a BCS-type ranking system
- A committee seeds the 12 teams once they have been selected.

So what would our 12 teams look like this season? (No order, yet)

Big 10 - Michigan
SEC - Alabama
Big 12 - Baylor
ACC - Pittsburgh
Pac 12 - Utah
AAC - Cincinnati
CUSA - UTSA
MAC - N. Illinois
Mountain West - Utah St.
Sun Belt - Louisiana
At-large bids: Georgia and Notre Dame

Notice that with this expansion, EVERY single team in the country controls their destiny to get to the playoffs.  (Except for maybe smaller independent teams) Win your conference, and you're in.  With only 2 at-large bids, it still makes games extremely important throughout the season.  Ohio State, Ole Miss, Michigan St., Oklahoma St., BYU, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wake Forest, Clemson, Wisconsin, and Iowa all still miss the playoffs in this scenario.

Assuming the committee would seed these teams similarly to the CFP committee, this is would be the seeding:

Top 4, receiving byes:
1. Alabama
2. Michigan
3. Georgia
4. Cincinnati

5. Notre Dame
6. Baylor
7. Utah
8. Pitt
9. Louisiana
10. UTSA
11. Utah State
12. Northern Illinois

This would result in the following games:
(5) Notre Dame vs. (12) Northern Illinois in South Bend, the winner taking on (4) Cincinnati in Cincinnati

(8) Pittsburgh vs. (9) Louisiana in Pittsburgh, with the winner facing (1) Alabama in Tuscaloosa

(6) Baylor vs (11) Utah State in Waco, with the winner facing (3) Georgia in Athens

(7) Utah vs (10) UTSA in Salt Lake City, with the winner facing (2) Michigan in Ann Arbor.
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I know it probably feels a little weird seeing teams like Utah State and Northern Illinois in the playoff, but think of the thrill of a close 5 vs 12 game.  Would it happen every year? no.  But I think it would be a lot of fun.

The fact that there's (a) byes for the top 4, (b) home games for the top 8, and (c) Potentially "easier" first round games against the lower seeds makes the rankings really matter.  the 5 seed will have a significantly easier first round game than the 8 seed most years.

I also loves that it emphasizes the importance of the conference season, and gives every single team a pathway to compete for a national championship.  Would there be first round blowouts sometimes?  Yeah, probably... but I'd guess not as often as you might think.  Conference champions are usually pretty solid teams (with pride) even in smaller conferences.

The maximum games a team could play is 4, but most years would likely result in everyone playing 3 or less.  This is pretty unavoidable if the playoff expands to 8+ teams.  This rule-set would emphasize conference play, so theoretically the OOC schedule could be shortened, as it wouldn't matter nearly as much.

This system gives everyone access, but doesn't diminish the importance of the regular season.  It threads the needle.  (But also will likely never happen...)