The best Christmas gift the SEC can receive is Playoff expansion
Don’t fight it, SEC fans.
I get why you might want to. After all, the SEC is 1 of 2 conferences to have made the Playoff in each of its first 5 seasons. And frankly, it’s never really been in serious jeopardy of missing the field.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Right?
But don’t be silly and fight the idea that Playoff expansion is suddenly going to put a curb on the SEC’s dominance. In fact, that would be the best gift that could show up under the SEC’s Christmas tree.
Why? It’s simple really.
While the belief is that the current system rewards the SEC for always seemingly having an elite team — usually Alabama — an expanded field would actually capitalize on how much depth the conference has.
Anybody who has actually sat down and watched games without screaming chants of “SEC bias” can tell it’s no longer Alabama and the Alabama-ettes. Everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that it’s the SEC who has 4 teams in New Year’s 6 Bowls. No other conference has more than 2.
Will an expanded field suddenly change that? I don’t believe it would. In fact, I wouldn’t rule out a scenario in which the SEC became the first conference to put 3 teams in the 8-team Playoff.
It’s ironic because the 2011 BCS National Championship was what put the wheels in motion for change. A system that put 2 teams from the same conference in the national championship wasn’t fair, many argued. Those same people cried foul in 2017 when the SEC became the first conference to put 2 teams in the Playoff, which was magnified when they played in a thrilling national championship.
In other words, get ready for more cries of an unjust system when the SEC makes up 3 of the 8 Playoff teams in a given year.
Expansion, however, won’t change the following things. For starters, the ACC and SEC aren’t being forced to change their 8-game conference schedule. As long as that’s in place, those conferences will indeed have a slight advantage based on that principle alone (though it’s worth pointing out the SEC went 9-4 vs. Power 5 teams in nonconference play).
But expansion won’t change the SEC just being better at football than everyone. Whether the skeptics want to admit it or not, that simple element is how we got to where we are now. That is, with conference commissioners saying that we’re in need of expansion and with selection committee members apparently undecided about expansion.

Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
These discussions are gaining momentum because the SEC nearly put 2 teams into the field for the second year in a row while the Big Ten is again on the outside looking in. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, who is one of the most powerful people in the sport, probably didn’t sleep well knowing that his 1-loss conference championship finished ranked behind not 1, but 2 SEC teams.
Again.
Other conferences are tired of not getting a chance after underperforming in the regular season. That’s at the root of this. Apparently they want a system that rewards a team for getting its teeth kicked in by Iowa or Purdue. Or they want to send their 2- or 3-loss conference champ to the Playoff in hopes that they’ll pull off an upset.
Basically, they want a system that looks past their flaws and doesn’t have them become the butt of the joke every December.
Fine. If that’s what they want, let’s have at it. It’ll be entertaining. Well, at least the lead-up will be until a team like Georgia beats Washington by 3 touchdowns. But on the bright side, the Pac-12 would delay being the butt of the joke until January. So that’s cool!
An 8-team field would work in the SEC’s favor because it would essentially squash the bias arguments. Let everyone have a bid and nobody can claim of SEC bias from the selection committee anymore. Instead, they’ll be out of excuses if and when the SEC still puts multiple teams in the field and wins a national championship.
Then what’ll they do? Bump it out to 16 like Jim Harbaugh wants? Sure. Why not. In fact, let’s just bump it out to 65 teams like basketball. Maybe then we can settle the argument once and for all.
For now, though, I guess we’ll have to settle for an 8-game field putting pause to the SEC bias crowd. It seems inevitable at this point. And yes, while it could jeopardize the greatest regular season in sports, crowning a champion in the most entertaining/fair way possible seems to be the main concern.
Whether expansion shows up under the SEC’s Christmas tree this year or next year, don’t be disappointed.
Smile, and know that more SEC joy is coming.
Other conferences would cry about an 8 team playoff too. We had 2 of the 4 CFP teams last year. What do you think they will do when the SEC has 3 or 4 of the teams in the CFP? No matter what they do, people will complain.
Exactly @cclausen71 IMO there aren’t 8 teams every year that deserve a shot at being the champ. I’m also against anything that would diminish the importance of the regular season. If expansion just had to be done, my preference would be no more than 6 teams. Give the top 2 seeds a bye. This makes more sense than 8 to me
Any plan to expand has to address CCGs in the process. Either they matter or they don’t. If they don’t, get rid of them.
I don’t want a repeat of 2016 (bypassing a CCG winner – PSU).
I don’t want a repeat of 2017 (advancing a team that fails to make their CCG – Bama).
I don’t want to see two teams advance that just played in a CCG (nearly happened this year – Bama & UGA).
Several other scenarios involving CCGs that have been beaten to death. I think it happens but not anytime soon.
I agree… CCGs have run their course and now needs to go away with the CFP…
Too much money for the conference to give up without some kind of compensation.
If the conferences are guaranteed at least one spot in the CFP and a possibility of two then I don’t see money being the issue as to why the conferences won’t drop the CCG. Right now conferences get left out of the CFP and thats a loss of money.
Connor, you’re right, we’re going to get an eight team play-off. Yes, we will likely get more SEC teams in. As a Dawg fan, having 8 teams this year would right the wrong of UGA (being one of the best four) and still not getting in.
As far as the SEC bias crowd goes, It won’t matter. When the B1G, the Big-12 and the Pac-12 receive their participation trophy buy-in’s, their fans will still cry about SEC bias, all the while knowing the undeniable truth.
Expansion would just allow the SEC to dominate even more which is fine with me. Merry Christmas to everyone, have a safe and happy holiday!
That’s worth repeating. Merry Christmas to all. Be safe if you’re traveling and have a happy New Year.
I see your point, but it feels like the conference championship game will decrease in value when it’s provided the SEC with so many memorable games/moments in the past.
I’m not for it what so ever if you keep giving in then it continues 6-8-10-12 when does it stop? If they went back to computer ratings using all facets of stats then you would get the real teams. When you inject human opinion only you get where we are today and teams like Oklahoma, UCF, even ND who is always over rated to get in based on opinion, then you leave a team like Georgia who plays a CCG to be out and they are on of the best 4.
I think one way to solve all this is to go to a points system….. using year end computer rankings! The team at the end of the year that has the lowest score is number #1. Example lets say you play #1 and win that is 1 point but as the year goes along and they are dropped to 18 by the end of the year that score you thought was a 1 becomes and 18. That would eliminate the thought of people saying well they were ranked when we played them. Also if there where a CCG game like the SEC CCG their score would have changed very little by 3 points. A team that schedules weak teams to gain wins pays the price for having a high score, you may be 10-2 or 12-0 but your where your supposed to be then.
Well, who decides the criteria for that computer ranking? It’s still subjective.
I’m fine with an 8 team playoff. What I’m not fine with is an automatic bid for conference champs. If you win the PAC, B10, or Big XII and aren’t in the top 8, then you don’t deserve it.
Also don’t agree with doing away with CCG. Otherwise there’s really no point in having conferences.
If conferences don’t get an auto bid what’s really the point of CCGs? Right now CCGs are just keeping good teams out of the CFP for teams that played in an arguably easier conference.
Teams need to play the same number of games. If you expand to 8 and keep CCGs, you’ll potentially have teams advancing that don’t have the “burden” of playing the extra game. We already have that scenario with Notre Dame.
How do you propose keeping CCGs and expanding to 8?
I think that’s one of the big issues at this point. Conferences have different amount of memebers and determine champions differently…There need to be a standard set of criteria to select conference champs.
Let’s be very clear. Guys like Greg Sankey, Jim Delany and John Swofford will never support any change that reduces their power. You’ll never get all P5 commissioners to agree on abolishing their CCGs. The opposite is more likely – they unite and lobby the CFP to make CCGs more meaningful (i.e. Auto-bids for winners).
You can dismiss Auto-bids with SEC dominance and PAC12 trash talk – but know this one very hard truth – the decision makers and influencers that shape the college football have one objective – Growth. Growth equals money. Growing the game means they have to ensure the other conferences remain relevant.
If you’re going to keep the conference championship games then you’re basically going to have to expand to a 16 team playoff, otherwise you’ve got 3 at large teams possibly sitting at home with a bye while the other top teams are laying it all on the line in a conference championship game. So it would seem fair to take the 6 highest ranked teams not playing in a championship game and you’d have your 3 at large games plus the 5 championship games and after that you’ve got your final 8 teams. But I cannot see the powers that be jumping from a 4 team format to a 16 team format it’s just not going to happen. Me and BamaTime where discussing a few weeks back that the perfect scenario would be to have just 4 Super Conferences with 2 divisions and you play everyone in your division and then have your final 4 after the conference championship games but of course that for sure will never happen.
Creating Super Conferences is a long shot. Not a bad idea per se but the money isn’t there to support it right now.
Let’s be real. Fans are the only ones that care about tradition, rivalries and conference alignment. College football is a business. And the business runs on television revenue. The SEC generates huge money from their deal with ESPN — the downside; they don’t own a stake in their own network – ESPN pays Sankey around 40% of total revenue. To further complicate things, ESPN is poorly managed and subscriber numbers are tanking.
So Greg Sankey is saying to himself “I need a better deal”. Which opens the door for other media giants who want a piece of college football. Their angle? Improving how we watch the game, expanded distribution, live streaming, increased revenue. And you can bet these media giants will consider every option – Super Conferences will certainly be on the table.
Money is the gateway to change. The SEC’s deal with ESPN has passed its half-life. Sankey is shopping and he’s the linch pin to getting other commissioners to consider change.
I believe independents should have to join a conference, or be penalized come selection time. It seems like total BS to say that a lot of weight is given in consideration of conference champions, and yet not hold it against teams that aren’t even in one. It’s not only about the win or loss, but getting to skip a big game other teams have to play and risk injuries or another loss. Independents like Notre Dame just get to kick back, let everyone else beat each other up while they get healthy.
None of this “half-way in a conference crap.” Let them have to play Clemson or Ohio State to get in. No more of this having their cake and eating it too crap. They ain’t special.
Why is everybody stuck on 8? There aren’t 8 teams good enough to win the championship. Any more than 6 is just wasting time if you’re a realist. (And I know it’s just about the money…more games more $$$)
Bcreek I agree, only 6 teams are really good enough, the problem is when you have at least one consistently over rated team(let’s say notre dame for example) that is going to push a more deserving team, (let’s say UGA for example) out of a spot.
Even with 6 teams instead of 4, this particular season it would have fixed that issue. The real bonus is that an early round of playoffs would mean two very big games played much earlier in the post season schedule.
So yes more post season bowl game attention and more money, this seems like a win-win if done right, but if done wrong becomes another giant tournament mess like march madness.
Do you honestly believe the current top 4 are the only teams capable of winning the NC this year? You don’t think UGA could run the tables? What about OSU? Every team can lose; that’s why we rarely see an unbeaten NC.
Your argument sounds good this year with the Tide appearing so dominant; but that won’t always be the case. And yes, it’s always about the $$$. Merica
This isn’t about SEC dominance. It’s about watering down the best regular season in sports. Why be for that?
Amen.
Exactly, my bayou bengal friend. The current CFP is perfect. We don’t need 6 or 8 or any change at all. Every year the right teams have been selected, even if there has been some minor controversy. The committee is well balanced as does a good job.
Water down? please explain. Teams still have to win as many games as possible to earn respect from the committee. How does 4 teams versus 8 teams change the regular season?
Because multi loss teams would be in the playoffs meaning the regular season losses wouldn’t matter as much. Also, multiple conference championship game losers would also potentially get in. CFB regular season is so exciting now because you can barely afford a loss to get in the playoffs. Expanding means you could drop a couple big games and potentially still get in. This is why the NFL regular season is so unexciting. You have a bunch of teams with several losses in the post season.
Disagree. Of the current top 8, only UGA and Michigan have two losses. Both entered their CCG as 1-loss teams and lost to teams that finished inside the top 8. If there is such a thing as a quality loss, I’d say those two examples qualify.
Would be rare for a team to lose twice in regular season and finish in the top 8.
Your NFL comparison is apples to oranges. They play 16 games and only have to win their division to advance. Current CFP format very very different.
That’s not correct. Michigan didn’t play in their CCG. They lost twice in the regular season.
Last year, Auburn, Ohio State, and USC all would have made it with two regular season losses, and Auburn would have finished with three overall.
In 2016, four teams finished with multiple losses, and again one of them finished with three, Wisconsin. Not playoff worthy.
LSUSMC, I stand corrected on the Michigan CCG error. Is it fair to say you don’t support expanding beyond the top 4?
Yes, but I would be ok if the expansion ended there. If it ever goes any bigger than eight, I will lose interest. College football is the only sport whose postseason actually makes the regular season totally meaningful. I only want teams in the playoff who can actually legitimately claim that they were the best team in the regular season. Four teams gives us that. Eight doesn’t and 16 would be a joke.
Do it like maybe the NFL? or maybe DII, or even down at your local park weekly “Round-Robin’ , or maybe even like Golf? I don’t care, but 4 teams proves nothing. Especially if it is subjective (like they have proved many times). It may take a year are 2 , but it will settle down to a tournament. Work out some bugs etc
Gross, no.
The only people crying for expansion are the commissioners of crappy leagues and writers with nothing else to write.
SEC fans on the whole are sick of reading this drivel from some bored writer out there every single day of the week. There is not a single football fan out there that want’s an extended playoff for any reason beyond inclusion, and we already are. Deservedly, Not gifted. No playoff that has crappy conference champions leapfrogging better teams to be included is a real playoff.