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The ever-changing landscape and format of the College Football Playoff appear set to change again as the Big Ten and SEC look to tighten their stranglehold on the sport even further. CFP leaders are set to gather this week for their annual meeting. One of the topics on the table is qualification criteria, which could well include television ratings according to ESPN’s Heath Dinich.
Dinich reports that the 2026 playoff will remain at 12 teams and only potential tweaks to seeding are on the table for the year to come. But looking ahead, the College Football Playoff is exploring a number of options, including both expansion and the future of automatic qualifying bids.
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One option reportedly on the table is involving television ratings in the bid process, something that fans have strongly advocated against.
“One possibility, which could be viewed as a compromise, is having conferences earn automatic bids through their play each season,” Dinich reports. “A model in which each Power 4 league can earn guaranteed spots through a combination of its teams’ overall records — and maybe even TV ratings, according to a source — could be presented. The highest-ranked conferences would earn the most automatic bids.”
College Football Fans Fire Back At Idea Of Playoff Format Involving TV Ratings
The report does express how television ratings would come into play. They may well lead to conferences receiving additional bids or higher seeding. But one thing is certain, nobody outside the College Football Playoff leadership actually likes the idea.
The Big Ten and SEC already have a built-in advantage simply given the sheer stature of their respective conferences. And anybody who is honest with themselves knows that they are the two best football conferences in the nation. But they don’t need additional help, especially when you consider the two conferences will always have the highest TV ratings.
“This is what the put the best teams’ (not the most deserving) people have been saying for years anyways. Looking at you, Herbstreit,” one fan said of the idea.
“I will quit watching college football if they ever implement tv ratings into playoff qualifications,” wrote another.
Ultimately, it’s unlikely this ever comes to fruition. But the fact that it’s even a possibility is ridiculous.