SEC’s Greg Sankey willing to move to 24-team college football playoff with one major catch
It appears as though a major expansion could be coming — if a significant change is agreed to.
Amidst all the SEC and LSU drama going on today, you probably missed a significant update on expanding the college football playoff. On Thursday morning, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellinger reported that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is willing to move to a 24-team playoff if specific criteria are met. The most impactful requirement Sankey is pushing involves teams playing 10 power conference opponents during the regular season in order to qualify for the postseason.
Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports also reported that the Big Ten is willing to meet this criterion. While this may seem like a loss for Sankey and the SEC because they’ve been fighting for a 16-team bracket, this is both sides meeting in the middle.
Why the 10-game requirement matters
While I don’t love the idea of a 24-team playoff, I do think what the SEC is pushing calms some of my concerns with that expanded field. The requirement to play 10 Power 4 opponents will improve scheduling across the board. We’ll get a lot more premier matchups throughout the season, with teams all over the country playing one another instead of continuing this recent trend where blue bloods have been canceling matchups with other blue bloods.
That trend could be disastrous for the sport and completely cheapen the regular season. College football fans should want more meaningful games throughout the season, and most importantly, more big matchups in conference play.
The reason the SEC is trying to push this through is straightforward. The Big Ten does not have the same requirement the SEC does, where SEC programs are forced to play a Power 4 opponent outside of their conference along with a nine-game conference schedule. This requirement creates a level playing field when we’re trying to compare teams.
The bigger picture for playoff expansion
It is extremely frustrating to be part of the discourse on evaluating teams for who deserves to get into the college football playoff when most programs do not play the same number of Power 4 opponents and do not play the same number of in-conference opponents. That disparity makes the selection process feel inherently flawed, and Sankey’s push to standardize strength of schedule addresses that problem directly.
The next round of playoff negotiations is close, and it seems we are pushing even closer to a 24-team field. If this criterion gets attached to the expansion, the regular season will benefit.
