College Football Playoff expansion has been the talk of the offseason, amid a proposal to enlarge the postseason to as many as 16 teams, but not everyone is on board with exactly how the sport’s power brokers want to reshape the format.
The current proposal suggests the SEC and Big Ten could be in line to secure four automatic qualifiers each, while the ACC and Big 12 would receive just two each.
Naturally, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark isn’t thrilled by that idea.
“I like 16. More access is better for the Big 12, for sure. But I’m also about fairness, and there’s been a lot of conversations out there about AQs and from where I sit, and I know I speak for our coaches and ADs, we want to earn it on the field,” Yormark said.
“I’m adamant about that. I think a 5-11 format does that. It’s fair. It’s what our fans want. They don’t want an invitational. They want a true playoff system. We have that now.”
Last year, the College Football Playoff debuted its first-ever 12-team field after expanding from the four-team semifinal of the previous decade.
Yormark said that event went as well as, if not better than, was expected, and inviting more teams will only make it better. But only if it’s competitive.
“I thought last year going to a 12-team format was fantastic. It played out exactly how people had hoped. It was very dramatic. It created a lot of interest,” Yormark said.
“Going to 16 does more of that. But I think we need to take these multiple AQs out of the conversation and I think 5-11 does that. And that’s our preference.”
He’ll likely face some considerable opposition in making that point clear.
While SEC football coaches reportedly agree with the Big 12 commissioner on preserving the competitive nature of the playoff, and generally opposing the automatic qualifiers, the higher-ups in the SEC and Big Ten take another view.
They’re still siding with the so-called “4-4-2-2-1 model” that includes three at-large bids, in which they get those top eight spots secure for themselves.
And given the extra power the SEC and Big Ten were given to redesign the College Football Playoff to their liking, it’s hard to see anyone mounting a credible opposition to their plans.
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