With the CFP expansion being called off, sticking to the 12-team format is already creating problems for the SEC. The conference leaders agreed to a nine-game conference schedule aligning with the 16-team playoff, but no change in the structure has left them with a tougher path to the playoffs. While the Big Ten and SEC’s friction is considered the reason for the hold, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum highlighted growing frustration among SEC ADs.

“When this was going down, it was supposed to be in concert,” Finebaum said in the February 13 interview with 97.1 The Fan. “Nine games for the SEC in concert with the CFP going to 16. But that didn’t happen, and a lot of people down here are upset about [Greg] Sankey saying, “We’re not expanding,” until he and [Tony] Petitti got on the same page. The SEC is somewhat stuck in the middle.

I blame Tony Petitti for that. Because of his trying to play games with Sankey over these 16, I don’t know why they couldn’t have just agreed to a shorter-term deal. And then we’ll bake something into the cake, saying, ‘We will come back in two years and address the second part of it.’ But the one thing that is happening down here is there is not just one or two ADs in the SEC who are unhappy about this nine-game schedule.”

This frustration inside the SEC reflects the deeper power struggle with the Big Ten over the future of the College Football Playoff. Per On3’s Brett McMurphy, both the SEC and the Big Ten were interested in expanding the playoff; however, they fell apart over their vision. 

The Big Ten was pushing for a 24-team playoff with multiple automatic bids, whereas the SEC favored a 16-team playoff with fewer automatic bids. While neither of the powerhouse conferences is willing to compromise, negotiations have stalled entirely. 

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This deadlock left the SEC with a nine-game conference schedule, which best aligned with the 16-team playoff. You can understand why SEC ADs don’t like the status quo. An eight-game conference schedule already meant each SEC team had multiple losses, making its path to the playoffs harder. Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Alabama missed the 2024 playoffs with three losses. The same happened to teams like Texas and Vanderbilt last season. 

That situation is going to get harder with a nine-game schedule, as SEC teams will now play four or five games away from home in hostile stadiums. When that happens, the record of a team doesn’t matter. The conference rivalries are such that even dismal teams like Florida and Auburn can present a formidable challenge to Georgia and Alabama.

The Big Ten’s 24-team playoff model- breakdown

ESPN’s Pete Thamel broke down the Big Ten’s 24-team playoff model, which is basically doubling the current 12-team format. It is noted that the 24-team seeding would eliminate the conference championship game while adding an extra week of home playoff games. 

The Big Ten’s proposed 24-team playoff model would include the nation’s top 23 teams, plus one G6 team, with no automatic qualifiers. The top eight teams would receive first-round byes, while the next eight would play first-round games at their home venues, with the remaining teams moving on to bowl games. This format would begin in mid-December, would avoid clashing with the NFL games, and would conclude with the semifinals and championship in the following weeks.

Another perk of the 24-seeding model is that it would prevent regular-season in-conference rematches in the first round. However, the expansion timeline remains uncertain, as the committee decided to proceed with the 12-game format for 2026. However, the Big Ten believes that it will establish its format before the 2029 season, as it continues to push the SEC until it agrees.