The 2025 season will be the second year of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. But after that, the playoff picture remains uncertain. Discussions of an even more expanded playoff have dominated talks between conferences this offseason, but nothing has been agreed upon yet. As it stands, nothing is in place for the 2026-27 season and beyond.
The SEC and Big 12 prefer a 16-team field through the "5+11" model," which guarantees that the five highest-ranked conference champions receive automatic CFP bids. Thus, 11 bids are left for at-large teams. On the other hand, on top of wanting the SEC to move to nine conference games during the regular season, the Big Ten wants to pursue other models of playoff expansion.
The latest proposal from the Big Ten is downright foolish, and would devalue what college football fans love most. It would also completely eliminate an SEC staple from existence.
The Big Ten's proposal goes too far
On Saturday, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that the Big Ten is considering an expansion model that would see the CFP field grow to 24 or 28 teams. The proposal would also eliminate conference championship games, including the SEC title game, and instead give all four power leagues a large number of automatic bids.
The Big Ten has considered an idea of a massive expansion of the College Football Playoff that would grow the postseason to 24 or 28 teams, sources told @PeteThamel. https://t.co/Gx8Ouan17G
— ESPN (@espn) August 16, 2025
Simply put, 24 or 28 teams is far too many. In that case, several three-loss teams, most likely some four-loss teams, and maybe even some five-loss teams could qualify for the CFP. The regular season would be completely devalued and conference title games wouldn't exist. That isn't what college football is about.
This proposal is a slap in the face to the rich history of college football that fans across the country love and adore. Depreciating the value of the regular season and eliminating conference championship games is not the way to go. Regularly played on the first Saturday of December in Atlanta, the SEC title game is a staple of the conference's success on the gridiron. Seeing it go would be a travesty.
Sadly, a vastly expanded playoff means more money for the conferences, which means less emphasis is put on what is best for fans. Immense TV deals and corporate greed are taking over, while college football's finest traditions and pageantry fall by the wayside.