I hate soccer. BUT - my son tells me there is an interesting system in Europe (I think he said England). There are two tiers to their professional (?) league. Only the top portion of the top tier get to remain there. The top portion of the bottom tier move up each year.
If we had a two or three tier College Football system for Division I, and only the top tier could compete for national title, and the worst teams in the top tier were put down into the next lower tier - unable to compete for the title next year... That would sort of put a natural competition into the recruiting, wouldn’t it...? Data only - wins/losses, strength of schedule - no coaches or sportscaster voting.
I’m very familiar with/avid viewer of ‘association football’ as it’s officially known.
Most leagues in Europe and England have a relegation/promotion system. It puts a near-total halt to tanking combined with the lack of a draft system (since there are no university/college programs) means that teams do everything they can to avoid dropping to a lower division.
A move to lower division means less TV revenue (especially when dropping out of the top tier), lower ticket prices (as part of the lesser league) etc. And many players on relegated teams make efforts to move elsewhere ie back to the top tier.
Lower divisions offer the top two spots automatic promotion and the next four teams enter a playoff (2 games) to determine the final promotion spot.
As you note, it might work at the college level BUT for the most part the conferences are the obstacle - or would be. Each conference (plus Notre Dame) signs its own TV deals and would likely be very resistant to a short-term loss even if it meant a long-term gain.