UCF is kind of a special case now because they are on a 21-game win streak and beat Auburn during that streak. The 2016 Western Michigan team isn't in that neighborhood. The closest thing they had to a good win in '16 was over 7-6 Northwestern. Even just looking at UCF's credentials at the end of last season, before the bowl win over Auburn, they finished out by beating #22 and then #16 on consecutive weeks. Western Michigan finished the 2016 regular season without having played a ranked opponent, let alone having beaten one. Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that if you guarantee a playoff spot to "one non-power 5 team," as proposed, you are going to end up with an undeserving team most years unless ND has a great season. It would be a good situation for ND, because ND would be in almost every year it could win 9 games -- and would maybe have a shot some years at 8-4. But it would be a hoax to put them in just because they were the highest rated "non-power 5 team." Western Michigan did not belong in an 8 team playoff in 2016. And they certainly shouldn't have been guaranteed a spot by virtue of being the highest ranked non-power 5 team.