It's pretty well known at this point that the non-semifinal major bowls are going to more or less operate this way. There will still be tie-ins, but the committee will place the qualifying teams into what should be attractive matchups. So we'll have that going for us at least. So no more Big 10 vs. Pac 12 in the Rose Bowl? Yes, still B1G/Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl, but the selection order has been scrapped and the tie-ins have largely been widened (Orange, for instance, is now ACC vs SEC/B1G/Notre Dame depending on who is ranked highest). I can't really explain it well, so here is Stewart Mandel's projection for what the non-semifinal bowls would look like if they had the playoff this year: Basically, the new system will use the tie-ins to create the best matchup in the non-semifinal bowls, as opposed to giving the bowls a selection order and the ability to pass over better teams for 'better draws'.