© Marc Weiszer/Imagn
After just one year of the expanded College Football Playoff, both the SEC and Big Ten are already driving the push for a newer, even larger model. When asked about the proposed new 16-team format, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart told it like it is.
“There’s been a major strain put on the colleges that are borderline, bubble,” Smart said at SEC Media Days via ESPN’s David Hale.
“These coaches just want an opportunity to get in that,” he continued. “Because the bigger the playoffs have gotten, it’s minimized the bowls. And if you’re at a mid-tier SEC program, you need to have a reason for your fan base to be excited, an opportunity for your fan base to think they’ve got a chance. And that’s hard in some of the models.”
The Future Of The College Football Playoff Could Look Drastically Different
As of now, the College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams for the time being. But a larger, 16-team field is just a matter of time. The question remains: what will that 16-team format look like?
Conferences such as the ACC, Big 12, and newly reformed Pac-12 all want a guaranteed spot for conference champions, with the additional spots going to the highest-ranked remaining teams. But the SEC and Big Ten don’t see it the same way.
The last national champion not from those two conferences came in 2018, when ACC representative Clemson won it all. Which is why both the SEC and Big Ten believe they should automatically have more teams in the field.
One proposed format saw the conference suggest that they each get four automatic bids. Another even more maligned format would see teams selected, in part, using television ratings. Although that format was quickly denied by the College Football Playoff committee.
Smart also said that he backed a 5+11 format that would see the top five conference champions qualify and the final 11 spots filled by the next highest-ranked teams. But he did acknowledge concerns for how the format could negatively affect the SEC and Big Ten.
“Two conferences are stronger than others,” Smart said. “And if you don’t agree with that, then you probably just don’t know college football.”