Is 18 the right field—and is the path fair?

I like how the current format rewards only 4 teams with a bye. I don’t think a double bye week would be as big of an advantage as you could go 3-4 weeks without playing a game depending on the schedule and if you’re Notre Dame or not. Additionally I think the expansion of on-campus games to the quarterfinals would cause the top 4 spots in the current format to become even more important as it would guarantee a home game after your bye week, instead of having to travel for a neutral site game which could be anywhere in the country (below mason dixon line).