The future of the College Football Playoff is hanging in the balance, with expansion talks hitting a critical juncture. Unless the SEC and Big Ten reach an agreement by Friday, the CFP will stick with its current 12-team format for next season - and any dreams of a 16-team field will be put on ice, at least for now.
This all comes after a series of high-stakes meetings between conference power brokers leading up to the national championship game. Despite the anticipation, those talks ended without a resolution.
The sticking point? A clash of visions between the two most influential conferences in college football.
Thanks to a memorandum of understanding signed by all 10 FBS commissioners, the SEC and Big Ten now hold the steering wheel when it comes to shaping the postseason format for 2024 and beyond. ESPN, which has a major stake in the playoff’s future, extended its original Dec. 1 deadline to this Friday, giving both conferences a bit more time to find common ground on a format that could take effect in 2026 and 2027.
Coaches like Georgia’s Kirby Smart and former head coach turned analyst Mark Richt have been vocal in their support of a broader playoff field. For Smart, it’s about opportunity - not just for the bluebloods, but for programs that might not otherwise get a shot at the title.
“I’m probably like most people in the majority, to be able to expand the playoffs, if it’s done the right way,” Smart said back in August. “People are not excited about midtier bowl games. I think those bowl games are great experiences... but the more teams you give an opportunity to decide things on the field... you’re going to get things decided on the grass.”
Richt, now with the ACC Network, echoed those sentiments just last week. He’s been a long-time advocate for a 16-team playoff - and even floated the idea of eventually growing to 32.
“I have thought 16 makes sense from the very beginning,” Richt said. “It made more sense than 12 to me... My goal was to revive the bowl games through those games because it makes those games more valuable.”
So where’s the holdup?
Both SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti are on board with expanding the playoff in principle. But the Big Ten has made it clear: it wants more than just 16.
The conference is pushing for a built-in path to a 24-team format, potentially as early as 2028. That’s a significant leap - and one that’s causing friction.
Sources close to the discussions have indicated the Big Ten won’t sign off on the 16-team model unless there’s a contingency plan for future expansion. The logic is straightforward: more teams mean more games, and more games mean more TV inventory - especially valuable for the Big Ten’s media partner, Fox.
This isn’t the first time the two conferences have butted heads over structure. Last year, the Big Ten balked at a 16-team format proposed by the SEC - which included five automatic bids and 11 at-large selections - unless the SEC committed to playing a nine-game conference schedule. The SEC has since made that move, set to take effect next season.
But now, from the SEC’s perspective, it feels like the Big Ten is shifting the goalposts.
One major reason the SEC isn’t eager to jump to 24? The potential impact on its conference championship game. Expanding the CFP to 24 teams could mean the end of conference title games altogether - a tradition-rich, revenue-generating piece of the college football calendar the SEC isn’t ready to part with.
There’s also concern that expanding too far, too fast could water down the regular season. College football has long thrived on the urgency of every Saturday - one loss can change a season.
That edge-of-your-seat intensity is part of what makes the sport special. A 24-team playoff risks dulling that edge.
So here we are: the clock ticking, the stakes high, and the future of the College Football Playoff in the hands of two conferences with different visions. Will they find common ground in time? That remains to be seen.
But one thing is clear - the next move will shape the postseason landscape for years to come.