Not everyone is on board with the proposed College Football Playoff format. The Big Ten and SEC are pioneering a 16-team playoff format that would give them an upper edge beginning in 2026. Maybe it sounds great on paper. Bigger field, more teams, more drama. But there’s one particular detail that’s got folks from the Big 12 and ACC ready to throw flags. 

As ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on X on May 17, Saturday marked the second in-person meeting of the Power Four commissioners in just over a week. “The power four commissioners met again today in person to primarily discuss the future of the College Football Playoff. They discussed new 16-team models, the second such meeting of the four in the last nine days. They met today in Charlotte… That NYC meeting was May 8. Nine days ago.” He also added that “Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti didn’t attend in person today.” He phoned in from California due to Big Ten meetings. 

So, the proposed 4-4-2-2-1 format. That’s where the mess starts. Under this format, the Big Ten and SEC get four automatic College Football Playoff berths each every year. That’s eight locked-in spots out of sixteen before anyone even plays a down in bowl season. The Big 12 and ACC will get two berths each. The Group of Six gets one. That leaves only three at-large bids to fight over, likely dominated by the same usual suspects. So yeah, no wonder people are mad. 

Still, this might be the future of college football. A source told Thamel, “I would say that 16 is becoming more preferred. It seems like 16 may be the preferred number, but there’s no format decision.” As Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger updated earlier this month, “there is growing B1G-SEC support for a 16-team bracket… with season-ending inner-league play-in games (3rd place v 6th; 4th vs 5th).” So it’s pretty much going to be March Madness energy in December. So the underdogs in this case are pushing back on this proposed format. 

The Big 12 and ACC aren’t thrilled with the 16-team College Football Playoff format

Per Dellenger’s report, the Big 12 and ACC are openly pushing back, demanding more than two automatic spots. “No one likes it,” one AD said. NC State HC Dave Doeren also told Yahoo Sports, “We are fighting for our spots. We believe we deserve three [automatic berths] as a minimum.” Can you blame him? The counterproposal on the table is to give the Big 12 and the ACC three auto-bids each. That would leave just one precious at-large spot, likely a Notre Dame-sized headache waiting to happen. 

And as if the gridiron power struggle wasn’t spicy enough, Pennsylvania congressman Brendan Boyle tossed a grenade into the chat. Right as the ACC kicked off its annual spring meetings on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, he tweeted—“The next one the Big Ten or SEC wants to meet with me about NIL, they need to be prepared to first explain to me how they justify trying to rig the CFP.” One hashtag word summarized it all—“#Greed.” 

So this College Football Playoff fight’s still far from over. The fate of college football’s biggest stage could be reshaped by summertime. We’ll see what goes down.