A College Football Playoff Is Here: Selecting The Semifinal Sites

A college football playoff is finally here and, well, it's a start. If you think for a second that this is going to end all controversy, or that fans aren't going to complain more about the four-team playoff than they are about the BCS (may it R.I.P.), you should be committed.

That said, again, it's a step in the right direction. Among other finer points which I won't get into here, the university presidents who oversee college football's Bowl Championship Series recommended the following:

"Rotation of the semifinal games among six bowl sites and rotation of the championship game among neutral sites. The championship game will be managed by the conferences and will not be branded as a bowl game."

Three of those bowl sites seem to be in the drivers seat -- the Orange (ACC), Champions (SEC/Big 12) and Rose (Big Ten/Pac-12) -- with the three remaining sites put out to bid.

So which cities should get the remaining three slots? Well, the city of Atlanta and ACC-affiliated Chick-Fil-A Bowl await your call, BCS overlords:

The Chick-fil-A Bowl is eagerly anticipating the opportunity and plans to pursue a bid to host college football's national championship game in Atlanta.

"We believe we can assemble a compelling bid and play a significant role in college football's new post season," said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. "As the future home of the new College Football Hall of Fame, Atlanta has it all ... a world-class facility, a proven host city, transportation and lodging infrastructure, corporate support and a track record for successfully hosting major sports events that cannot be matched."

If the city of Atlanta is successful in landing one of the six spots in the semifinal host rotation, which other cities get the nod? I'd imagine the Champions Bowl will be transformed into the Cotton Bowl 2.0 and played in Jerry World. Do the Fiesta (Glendale) and Sugar Bowls (New Orleans) also get the nod? Or, with four of five playoff spots being played in SEC-territory, will there be significant pressure exerted by the Pac-12 and Big Ten to put a game anywhere other than within the SEC footprint?

My vote for the city to receive the sixth and final spot in the rotation? New York. If the NFL can stage a Super Bowl in early February, there's no reason why a college football semifinal couldn't be played in the Meadowlands at new MetLife Stadium. A semifinal in New York would be great for the northern tier of the ACC, the northeast contingent of the Big East left standing and the Big Ten. Maybe even the PAC-12. We all know how Larry Scott loves him some NYC media exposure.

Leave your top six semifinal host cities in the comments section.