Another SEC/Big Ten Power Play

Well, the SEC and Big Ten are at it again. 

Yahoo! Ross Dellenger reports that the two leagues are bullying their way toward expanding the College Football Playoff to 14 or 16 teams with four auto bids for each conference. They’re also putting the finishing touches on a scheduling agreement, and the SEC will likely adopt a nine-game league schedule. 

Dellenger’s reporting confirms that starting in 2026, the SEC and Big Ten have full authority over the playoff format and will control most of the revenue, though we could have already assumed that. 

I’m sure your initial reaction is that this is pretty lame–because it is. That’s an opinion shared almost universally across the sport, outside of the SEC and Big Ten wonks who are actively cheering on the destruction of America’s greatest sport. 

Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde said it best on this week's College Football Enquirer podcast. 

Why do the two conferences with all of the inherent advantages these days need guaranteed spots? It’s a perfectly fair question to ask. They’ve turned the playoff into an invitational. 

Commissioners Greg Sankey (SEC) and Tony Petiti (Big Ten) would tell you the auto bids allow them to transition away from a conference championship game and instead award their third and fourth playoff spots to the winners of two games played on what has traditionally been championship Saturday. Think #3 vs. #6 and #4 vs. #5. 

They can also now create a scheduling agreement to add more big-time interconference non-conference games like Ohio State-Alabama, for example, because there’s no more fear that it would keep your league out of the playoff. 

What does it all really boil down to? Money, of course. Those extra games and better non-con matchups will create more TV cash. 

Combine that with the extra money they’ll be making from having more teams in the playoff every year than the Big 12 and ACC, and the financial gap has grown significantly wider. 

Having said all of that, there is a silver lining for the Big 12 and ACC. They will each get two automatic bids to the playoff every year. 

This year, there was talk in November about the Big 12 missing the playoff entirely if Tulane or Army could play spoiler, and BYU never got the legitimate at-large discussion they deserved. With that in mind, I will certainly take two automatic spots. 

But make no mistake: This is horrible for the sport. As Forde said, the decisions being made right now are shortsighted and have the worst intentions. 

Even ESPN is starting to express concerns about the SEC and Big Ten's possible impact on the sport's long-term viability. This passage from Dellenger’s story was as revealing as anything in the article. 

Though they have not publicly commented, ESPN executives have expressed to at least some college leaders apprehension about a format that provides such lopsided automatic access.

As one powerbroker put it, “You are going to alienate part of the country.”

ESPN is certainly lobbing that quote from a glass house. Both major TV networks are as much to blame as anybody for the current state of the sport. This latest wave started with ESPN collaborating with the SEC to remove Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12. 

Meme

But at least they’re starting to understand. If things keep going this way and too much of the country gets disinterested, these short-term cash grabs will lead to long-term destruction for everyone. 

For now, we’ll just have to settle for our two playoff spots every year and hope there are more Arizona State-esque efforts against the SEC and Big Ten every year. 

I discussed this extensively on my latest YouTube show. If you're interested, check it out here. 

What You Need to Know

• Houston took a big step toward winning the Big 12 regular season title with a 62-58 comeback win at Arizona on Saturday. The Cougars’ lockdown defense held the Wildcats without a field goal for over six minutes while making their surge in the second half. Houston now has a two-game lead on Texas Tech and Arizona with six games to play in the regular season. 

• Texas Tech forward JT Toppin had an insane week for the Red Raiders. He scored 73 combined points and grabbed 27 rebounds in wins over Arizona State and Oklahoma State. He’s very much in the Big 12 Player of the Year discussion, according to KenPom and Bart Torvik. 

• The latest Bracketology update has BYU safely in the field, but K-State and Cincinnati are on the outside looking in. The Cougars thumped the Wildcats 80-65 in Provo on Saturday night. That gives the Big 12 eight total teams in the field now. Iowa State and Houston lead the way as two seeds. 

• Matt Campbell gets mentioned for nearly every Power Four college football head coach opening, and now the NFL is sniffing around, too. On3’s Andy Staples told Heartland College Sports that the NFL would be wise to continue to come after Campbell. 

• 247 Sports lists Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy as the Big 12 head coach under the most pressure this year. I can certainly understand why after he went winless in conference play last season. Arizona’s Brent Brennan, Baylor’s Dave Aranda, and Cincinnati’s Scott Satterfield may not be far behind.

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