Big Ten, SEC Near Agreement on 16-Team College Football Playoff Format

The future of the College Football Playoff (CFP) is at a crucial crossroads, with the SEC and Big Ten driving proposals for a 16-team playoff format that heavily favors the Power Five conferences. Their preferred model includes four automatic bids each for the SEC and Big Ten, two each to the ACC and Big 12, one for the highest-ranked Group of Six champion, and three at-large bids, potentially incorporating play-in games during championship week. This plan has sparked criticism from other conferences, including the ACC, Big 12, and Notre Dame, who advocate for a more balanced “5+11” model with five automatic qualifiers and eleven at-large bids to preserve competitive fairness. Big Ten athletic directors reportedly condition their support of the 5+11 format on the SEC agreeing to increase conference games to nine, highlighting ongoing negotiations tied to scheduling and television contracts. With a December 1 deadline looming due to TV negotiations, the SEC and Big Ten hold significant influence, prompting calls for unity among the smaller conferences to resist the concentration of power and preserve merit-based competition. The debate underscores broader tensions over money, power, and fairness in college football’s evolving postseason landscape.