SEC, Big Ten reportedly want 8 auto bids to College Football Playoff
SEC and Big Ten officials are set to meet in Nashville, Tennessee, next week to discuss a potential scheduling partnership and the future of the College Football Playoff, according to a report from ESPN’s Heather Dinich.
The current CFP format is set through 2025. When the next CFP contract begins in 2026, the process by which teams are selected could change. According to Dinich, the SEC and the Big Ten want a larger, guaranteed share of the pie.
The report states that both leagues would “prefer” to have 4 automatic bids each to the future 14-team CFP.
From Dinich’s report:
“I’m for anything that gives us the maximum number of postseason opportunities,” one SEC source said. “I don’t count bowl games as postseason opportunities.”
Some have also expressed interest in limiting the role of the 13-member selection committee — or eliminating it entirely.
“I think anything we can do to take the subjectivity of a committee off the table is really helpful,” the SEC source said. “We may not be able to completely get rid of subjectivity the more we can minimize it. And so Tony Petitti’s idea of multiple automatic spots for a conference has a lot of value. I’m not sure four is the right number.”
Dinich goes on to state that a format in which over half of the CFP spots are reserved for 2 leagues has already received “significant” pushback from others.
As things stand after Week 5, the SEC has 4 teams ranked in the AP Top 5. The Big Ten has 4 teams inside the top 10. Miami (No. 8) is the only team from outside the SEC or Big Ten that currently sits in the AP Top 12.
Are there going to be more than 6 other deserving teams from other conferences? Outside of Clemson, Florida State, and Miami there isn’t much left in the ACC and what are the chances three of them being good at the same time. So lets say two of the three are good and there is a surprise team other than them then that is three spots. The Big 12 doesn’t have a single traditional power left. It is a league of average to bad teams so the chances of more than 2 being deserving is slim. So the SEC/Big 10 take 8 spots, ACC takes 3 spots, Big 12 takes 2 spots and non-major gets 1. The reality is with or without the guaranteed spots the SEC and B1G will get at least 4 teams each in a 14 team playoff.
Can’t forget in the current structure the B12, ACC and the top G5 teams get an auto bid. If the SEC/B10 get 8 bids that’s one slot left for the rest of the teams. You’ll end up getting an 8-4 Indiana team in the playoff over an 11-1 Utah or Miami
The SEC and Big10 are attempting a monopoly and should be broken up as a consequence and punishment for overreach. They are trying to legally codify their current supremacy into a guaranteed status quo. They are no different than Microsoft or Google and they should be punished severely for even attempting it.
Terrible idea. It may not be evident today with the power imbalance, but this will mean the death of the other conferences. You’ll immediately see the top programs in the other two conferences bolt for the door out of fear of getting the FSU treatment. Think 12-0 Clemson and an 11-1 FSU getting left out. This will be one more step in turning college football into the NFL.
Hopefully the B12 and ACC hold their ground and say no to this. The SEC and B10 shouldn’t be guaranteed anything other than the conference champ getting a spot. This is a detestable power play by the SEC and B10.
Should be a hard NO. It is okay for the SEC and BIG to be told no sometimes. No room or place for entitlement or narcissists.
Somehow, the SEC and B1G should have teams in the CFP that finish the season with quality wins within their conferences. Teams from other conferences seldom face real competition. Everybody knows that.
Did anybody really think the 2021 Cincinatti team was a real contender for a national championship?
How do you get the right teams in? That’s the question! Correctly answering that question will be good for college football and good TV.
I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again. Select 72 teams in college football and divide them in to 4 -16 team conferences by area and history of power. Each conference will have a 4 team playoff for their respective conference championship. The 4 conference champions will meet to play a 4 team playoff for the national championship. There’s your 16 team playoff. Fair and impartial playoff selection without the subjectivity we see from a committee.
Correction, 64 teams, not 72.
This also eliminates the numerous smaller colleges that continue to believe that their programs belong in the D1 FBC level. The entirety of college athletics needs to be rearranged that will allow players at different levels of schools the opportunities to win championships. This applies to football as well as basketball and other sports.