Greg Sankey says CFP selection committee ‘has to respect the difference’ of a 9-game SEC schedule
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Earlier this offseason SEC coaches expressed their frustration with the league’s decision to expand to a 9-game conference schedule, despite the fact their schools voted on the change.
While this may sound inconsistent, it’s definitely a fair gripe. The coaches felt misled, working under the belief that College Football Playoff expansion to 16 or 24 teams was imminent. Instead, the Playoff remains at 12 teams for the 2026 season.
The scheduling change guarantees that 8 SEC teams will add an extra loss this season, as normally teams would schedule cupcake opponents to ensure an extra win on their resume. Competition for the College Football Playoff is tight — why risk an extra loss when Tennessee State or Eastern Kentucky is willing to serve as a glorified practice for a price?
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is calling on the selection committee to “respect the difference” that comes with SEC programs facing an extra SEC team instead of a cupcake opponent. Here’s what he had to say in full, via TexAgs:
“The issue we are going to have is accumulating losses because you are not playing mid-level FBS teams,” Sankey said. “The selection committee has to respect the difference, in my view. Will it? I don’t know. That will drive our decision-making.”
On Monday, Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz noted that he is in favor of Playoff expansion, but that he dislikes the idea of committees. This schedule dispute is part of the reason why. Let’s take Mizzou as an example. The Tigers are set to face Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas A&M among 4 other SEC matchups this season.
Obviously, we don’t know who is going to be good and who isn’t in the SEC this year, but preseason expectations tell us that all 5 teams mentioned above are going to be tough outs. Now, replace Texas or Georgia with Missouri State. Suddenly, Mizzou’s path to the Playoff looks a little more manageable, right?
If Texas is the best team in the county like many expect the Longhorns to be, how is it fair to ask the Tigers to be graded on the same level as BYU, whose toughest games are Notre Dame (at home) and at Utah, 20 miles down the road? There’s a winning argument to be made that Mizzou will face 5 tougher opponents than BYU’s toughest opponent, and you could substitute “BYU” for most Big 12 and ACC programs.
How will the CFP committee treat strength of schedule with all that in mind? The debate will certainly heat up as the season wears on.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
