I'm saying in the 6 years since the current format began, 8 of the 12 Championship game slots have gone to either the #1 or #2 seed. So you could say under the current format, only 4 of 12 times (33%) has the #3 or #4 seeds been relevant (although admittedly they did win the National Title twice).
So if the #3/#4 only mattered 1/3rd of the time under the current format, odds are the #5-#8 seeds are going to be even less relevant. Meaning, regardless of the number of teams in the play-off, the odds of the National Champion coming from outside the Top-2 (or for sure Top-4) are remote. So I'm saying playing those games and including those teams probably is not a relevant process.
Would it make the #5-#8 seeds feel more included? Probably. Do they have any realistic chance of actually making it to the Championship Game? Highly doubtful.
So if the #3/#4 only mattered 1/3rd of the time under the current format, odds are the #5-#8 seeds are going to be even less relevant. Meaning, regardless of the number of teams in the play-off, the odds of the National Champion coming from outside the Top-2 (or for sure Top-4) are remote. So I'm saying playing those games and including those teams probably is not a relevant process.
Would it make the #5-#8 seeds feel more included? Probably. Do they have any realistic chance of actually making it to the Championship Game? Highly doubtful.