SEC coaches are throwing a wrench into the College Football Playoff format plans,with their pushback against automatic qualifiers potentially disrupting a Big Ten-SEC alliance.This could favor a 5+11 model and put the secondary_keyword of the Big Ten’s plan in jeopardy in the future. News Directory 3 reports that the SEC’s stance reflects concerns about the current CFP selection process, impacting the importance of the SEC Championship Game. Discover what’s next for the future of college football.
SEC Coaches’ Pushback Throws Wrench in College Football Playoff Format Plans
Updated June 03, 2024
the Big Ten’s plan to reshape the College Football Playoff, with a format similar to the NFL, has hit a snag. The conference believed it had an ally in the SEC, but that alliance is now in question.
Over the past year,the Big Ten and SEC have grown closer,jointly influencing potential changes to the College Football Playoff format for 2026 and beyond. Meetings between the conferences in Nashville and New Orleans fostered discussions about automatic qualifiers, with the Big Ten advocating for four each for the Big Ten and SEC, and two each for the ACC and Big 12.
Sources say the Big Ten argued that more automatic qualifiers would reduce the selection committee’s power and improve non-conference scheduling. The Big Ten felt the selection committee was inconsistent and that automatic bids would provide more consistency.
One Big Ten source explained the pitch: “Make it about how you compete against your conference and take out any sort of perceived bias or politicking and campaigning and let it play out how each conference thinks is best for them.”
The SEC’s openness to the idea increased after Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina narrowly missed the playoff cut. SEC leaders felt the selection process didn’t adequately consider the challenges of playing in their conference. The prospect of lessening the selection committee’s influence became more appealing after the SEC only had three teams in the 12-team CFP.
Big Ten sources described the meetings with the SEC as “critical” in building support for a 16-team playoff with more automatic qualifiers. however, at SEC meetings in Florida, the conference appeared to be shifting towards the Big 12’s preferred 5+11 model, which grants automatic bids to the top five conference champions and 11 at-large bids. This reversal caught Big Ten sources off guard and could lead to conflict between the two conferences.
SEC coaches forcefully against AQs, 9 conference games
A key factor in this shift is the strong opposition from SEC football coaches to automatic qualifiers. Six of the 10 highest-paid football coaches in America are in the SEC, including Georgia’s Kirby Smart. While coaches like Smart are influential, their priorities don’t always align with those of athletic directors or university presidents, who may be more interested in the increased revenue from an expanded CFP and a move to nine SEC conference games.
Sources say the SEC football coaches’ strong opposition to automatic qualifiers surprised SEC leaders. Discussions between athletic directors and coaches became heated, as some ADs, hoping for the extra revenue from a ninth SEC game, grew frustrated with the changing sentiment. Most coaches opposed a play-in weekend, believing it would diminish the importance of the SEC Championship Game. The play-in concept, a key part of the big Ten’s plan, is another potential source of revenue that some ads want.
Mississippi State AD zac Selmon told CBS Sports, “Having football coaches in the room was realy good.” He added that his position on automatic qualifiers “evolved a lot” after meetings with the Big Ten but that he still wrestled with whether that was the best path for the SEC.
Selmon said, “I grew up in sports, and if you want to win a championship, you have to go earn it, and I still think that’s exactly how it is in the SEC. If you get into the CFP, you’ve earned your way there, and you should.”
He also raised concerns about the potential for a large number of SEC teams in the expanded CFP: “In some years, we could have a model where there’s seven SEC teams in the expanded CFP. Is that good for the game? I don’t know, but it shows the strength of our league.”
how will selection process change?
The SEC’s meetings on the Gulf Coast seemed to target the current CFP selection process. Multiple coaches criticized the process that led to more Big Ten teams (4) than SEC teams (3) in the playoff.
Smart said, “There’s no outcry, saying it’s unfair when the SEC gets 13 of 16 teams in (the NCAA) basketball tournament by using RPI. I have a hard time thinking Ole Miss, South Carolina and Alabama were not part of the best teams in the country.”
Lane Kiffin advocated for taking the 16 best teams and eliminating automatic bids altogether, while also suggesting tweaks to the selection process.
kiffin said, ”Somehow, the formula of how they figure out the teams has to change. I’m not just saying that as we lost three games and didn’t make it; I’m saying that because other sports do a much better job of figuring out the quality of the team over just the losses, figuring out the quality of wins that they have, their strength of schedule that they play.”
He admitted he didn’t have specific solutions but suggested using analytics and indexes, stating, “You got to use some of the indexes. I’m not going to pretend I understand them all and which ones are the best, but I know other sports have figured that out better than us.”
The SEC’s dissatisfaction with the selection committee mirrors concerns in the Big Ten, which is why the Big Ten wants to reduce the committee’s influence by adding more automatic qualifiers. The Big Ten envisions the committee primarily focusing on seeding and selecting only a few at-large teams.
What’s next
The future of the College Football Playoff format remains uncertain as the Big Ten and SEC navigate their differing viewpoints. The SEC coaches’ resistance to automatic qualifiers has introduced a new dynamic, potentially leading to a shift towards the 5+11 model. The coming months will be crucial in determining the final format and the role of the selection committee.
