The SEC is not hiding how it feels about the College Football Playoff’s latest approach to schedule strength.
After a first year of the 12-team format that left plenty of frustration in the league, the conference believed the committee would put more weight on the quality of opponents. Instead, that promise has only sharpened the SEC’s irritation.
Commissioner Greg Sankey made that clear Monday at SEC media days in Tampa, saying the league had an “unsatisfactory conversation” with CFP representatives during the SEC’s spring meetings in May.
“I’m actually one who believes competitors want great challenges and I’m unapologetic about that reality as it relates to the College Football Playoff selection committee,” Sankey said Monday in Tampa. “We have heard about strength of schedule, strength of record. I think there were some references for strength of conference.”
The tension traces back to a late-May meeting in Destin that, according to Sports Illustrated at the time, left coaches and administrators baffled. The complaint centered on how Texas Tech and BYU seemed to benefit despite playing lighter non-conference slates, while SEC teams were slotted behind them.
Texas Tech finished 12-1 and earned the No. 4 seed as the Big 12 champion, even though its non-league schedule included Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State. BYU, at 12-2, was the second team left out after facing Portland State, Stanford and East Carolina.
Texas was ranked one spot behind BYU after going 9-3, despite opening the season at Ohio State.
Now the issue is only getting louder as the 2026 season approaches. The SEC will add an extra conference game while still being required to schedule a power-league opponent outside the league.
That move was made with the expectation that tougher scheduling would be rewarded. When it doesn’t look that way, the frustration in the SEC is obvious.
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