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It sounds like the College Football Playoff will be expanding past 12 teams, but it's still unclear when a change will happen and how many teams will qualify. One potential format is a 16-team CFP with five automatic qualifier spots for conference champions, and 11 at-large bids. The Big Ten and SEC have been in discussions about that model, but there is one thing that the Big Ten needs to see before they can sign off on it.
Right now, the Big Ten plays more conference games than the SEC. The Big Ten plays nine conference games every season, and the SEC only plays eight. That puts Big Ten teams at a disadvantage as the SEC squads don't have as many challenging opponents on the schedule.
“During a call earlier today, Big Ten ADs discussed the 5 AQ + 11 At-large CFP model under consideration in the SEC, sources tell @YahooSports,” Ross Dellenger said in a post. “Many ADs say they would not support such a model if the SEC remains at eight conference games. The Big Ten plays nine conference games.”
There is also a chance that this leads to a scheduling partnership between the SEC and the Big Ten. SEC coaches are reportedly seeking a scheduling alliance where each every team plays one Big Ten team each season. The Big Ten has the same opinion on this matter as it does with the CFP format: If the SEC switches to nine conference games, then it might happen.
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“LSU’s Brian Kelly says SEC coaches favor a scheduling partnership w/Big Ten giving the 2 leagues 1 non-conference game annually against each other,” Brett McMurphy said in a post. “Big Ten in favor only if/when SEC adds 9th league game.”
As you can see, a lot of changes might go into place if the SEC makes a change that the Big Ten has been wanting to see for a while. Even with the current CFP model, the SEC is at an advantage because of the fact that they only play eight conference games. In fact, the conference might even be at a bigger advantage now than they would be in a 16-team format as there are less spots available right now.
There are going to be a lot more changes to the CFP and college football in general in the coming years. There are a lot of kinks to work out with the current model, and it seems likely that we will soon see every power conference team play the same amount of conference games.
