There is “growing support” for a 16-team College Football Playoff bracket, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported this week.
The four power conference commissioners — ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC — held a meeting in New York this week to discuss the future of the College Football Playoff. In addition to expanding the playoff field from 12 to 16 teams, the Big Ten and SEC “…continue to favor multiple AQs (automatic qualifiers) for their conferences.
How would that look in a 16-team bracket? The field would include a whopping four automatic bids for both the Big Ten and SEC, who are in control of the future playoff format. Below is a complete breakdown of the proposed 16-team bracket, per the report:
- 4 (SEC)
- 4 (B1G)
- 2 (ACC)
- 2 (B12)
- 1 (G6)
- 3 (at large)
Dellenger provided additional details on the format when he first reported on it in February:
Officials describe the 14-team format as a 4-4-2-2-1+1 model in which the top two seeds receive first-round byes. There would be no byes in a 16-team structure. In either, the CFP selection committee’s role is greatly diminished. The committee, its future — as the memorandum stipulates — also controlled by the SEC and Big Ten, would presumably seed 1 through 14 or 16 based directly on its top-25 rankings.
Also gaining support is another scheduling item that Dellenger previously reported on. The Big Ten and SEC are mulling “season-ending inner-league play-in games”, which would pit the third-place team against the sixth-place team and fourth-place team against the fifth-place team within each conference.
Not only would winners of those games receive bids to the College Football Playoff, but it would create extra matchups for television that also, of course, results in more revenue.
Could the SEC and Big Ten, if guaranteed four spots, pit their third-best team against the sixth and their fourth-best team against their fifth in on-campus, play-in games to the CFP? Would they advance their top two seeds automatically into the CFP or would they still play a title game? Or, would they match their top seed against their eighth-place finisher?
The games could fetch millions more in additional revenue from television partners.
In the Big 12 and ACC, similar conversations are being had.
According to the report, decisions on the future of the College Football Playoff format are expected in the the next couple of months. Both the Big Ten and SEC will hold their Spring meetings at the end of May, where the latter is also likely to continue discussions on a nine-game conference football schedule.
Excellent give a G6 or two to get in.
What do you mean ¨excellent.¨ This is disgusting.
So, just a 9-game season for everyone (8- or 9-game conference games and maybe 1 nonconference game), then a 16-team playoff (4 games). That finally brings college back down to a “non professional length season” of 13 games for the winning team.
Not necessarily, in fact not likely. The media partners still want their game inventory and will not concede games, even if that inventory was originally for G6/FCS noncofernce games. If anything expect the current week 0 or even the 3rd week of August to become the CFB opening weekend.
Hank as a Fan of conference games they will play a significant role in CFP.
This model renders non-conference games completely meaningless which means no stakes at all and is just extremely sad. It´ll just feel like NFL preseason games which are unbearable to watch and just like in those games I guarantee you´re gonna see teams rest all their starters during non-conference games. It would essentially just be a nine or eight game regular season under this model because now only conference games matter which I think everyone agrees is terrible.
@BYUfan I can’t say that I’m a fan of the format either but in reality this format is a lead up to the inevitable split of the P2 (or possibly P4) and the G6.
The season schedule already contains as you noted an equivalent “NFL preason” contest by nearly ever FBS school scheduling and FCS opponent today, and an argument could be made its actually 2 games when the B1G/SEC schedule a G6.
What will likely happen as we are seeing with the recent scheduling agreements are B1G/SEC matchups that will only impact seeding or serve as tie breakers for play-in berths on conference championship weekend. The bigger question may actually be if the G6 and FCS contracts or consolidates should the Power Conferences split off as may be dictated by the next wave of realignment and looming House settlement events.
I have one thing to say about this format. It is absolutely revolting in the nastiest way.
Sounds like teams could play each other up to 3-4 times a season.
Regular season
Conference tournament
Playoffs
BORING BORING BORING
you hit the nail on the head.
We’re already seeing fans losing interest with the championship game being played in the second half of January.
If the G6 conferences do agree to this format they would be prudent to create atleast some type of championship game to determine the CFP participant instead of leaving it up to rankings and establishing a format that could transition to the new college football tiering should the Power conferences or B1G/SEC break away in the 2030s.
Of course for this to work the conferences would either have to forgo their own conference championships or start their season schedules earlier and requiring a ranking to determine the top 2 (or 4). A 6 team play-in would be preferable for each conference winner to participate but 3 weekends would be almost impossible to play within the existing season schedule format.
If the SEC and B10 are actually the best conferences they wont need to fall back on automatic bids. Its not necessary and it is bad for the sport. This may even backfire for the SEC because they are never going to get 7 teams in this format.
I agree with you everything you said.
I have no problem with going from a 12 team to a 14 team playoff eventually. However, no matter if we stay at 12, go to 14 or even 16, I am against having up to 4 automatic bids into the playoffs. The only auto bid for any conference should be their champion and that’s it. Sure you might have some other teams in that conference that are good that year, but keep it the way it was, in basketball, yes they have 68 teams and the only auto bid, is winning your conference, then every other team is an at large, that is how football should also do it.
Well said. But, we know who runs college football–the SEC and the B1G. They don’t care what’s good for the sport. Moreover, they complain about NIL, yet Athletic Departments have 50 people making six figure salaries. The more money they get, the more they spend on themselves and then complain that they can’t afford to pay players.
In addition to not wanting to pay players, they keep adding games to the season without their consent. It used to 10, then 11, then 12 and then a bowl game. Now its 12 plus the conference titles game and–if 16 is the new number–four more playoff games. That means the teams that play in the title game will play 17 games in their seasons.
At some point, the players are going to walkout and demand CBA type leverage. The golden goose could be getting murdered here.
@John Furgele True this all appears to be setting itself up for collective bargaining but the B1G/SEC and their media partners may be willing to come to that inevitability by squeezing as much revenue as they can now as they see the writing on the wall, but will still go to lengths to ride this wave as far out as possible.
And more importantly they know those affiliated schools are almost certainly the only ones able to afford and maintain such arrangements after such events and are planning accordingly. This may be why we see athletics departments setting up seperate LLCs, entertaining wall st/capital partners-private equity, building up facilities, establishing General Management roles, etc.
ESPN has destroyed college football……..completely. The greed and monopoly is far beyond driven. Add in the portal and NLI deals and you have eliminated 70% of the schools have a fair shot at anything other the minor bowl games which are all owned by ESPN as well.
That is bunch of Bologna look all positive things that ESPN have done to help popularity of College Football.
Back in 1970’s you only have to see certain teams like Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas & USC now you can see all the teams plus I am a fan of choices over Television airwaves on any given Saturday especially 3;30PM-4:00PM time slot for example Michigan State at Michigan on CBS, USC at Penn State on NBC, Colorado at Oklahoma State on FOX & LSU at Georgia on ABC.
ESPN has certainly help GROW college football, but they’re beginning to hurt it now. It’s becoming unwieldly and if commons sense doesn’t make an appearance, it could blow up in their faces.
ESPN did not destroy college football. The schools determine what terms to agree to and how they intend to use their athletics departments to represent their brwnds. The University administrations agreed to the media partners requests and took the money.
Had the administrators put more stock into rivalries, regional schedules/travel and had the fortitude to deal with the existing Labor arrangements that arose from their intention to increase the revenues from their athletics departments these issues would either not exist or the current state of CFB been gradually introduced since the 70s.
John Sound like something that would happen to Wile E. Coyote when he tries to catch Road Runner.
My favorite when Wile E. Coyote built Railroad Wig Wag, Track & Record player that would have a Railroad like sound.
Still rigging it for the big conferences. With 16 teams, EVERY conference championship game winner should be in the tournament. It’s just silly stupid not to do that.
You know better than that–the MAC and CUSA champs aren’t beating the fifth place SEC team in the CFP–that’s why they’re never getting in. The G6 schools should break away and have their own playoffs.
Well allow me to retort John,
The 6th Place MAC team beat one of the teams who played in the National Championship last year. On the road.
Love cupcake games Jules.
It’s what made the FCS and DIII playoffs interesting in the opening rounds to see new faces despite the just as heavily tilted powerhouse schools competing for the championship. As noted previously, I hope the G6 can adopt a play-in game or round robin atleast to give those teams a chance at national exposure and not be left to polls/rankings to earn their CFP bid.