Big Ten-SEC Egos Are Going To Keep Shaping College Football Playoff
Can't we all just get along?
We're two seasons into the 12-team College Football Playoff, and for the most part, the outcome has been a success. Few argue that the 2024-2025 Ohio State Buckeyes were not a deserving champion last season, and even fewer argue against the 2025-2026 Indiana Hoosiers.
But while the outcome has met expectations, the seeding and selection process conclusively has not. Arguments over the "best" or "most deserving" teams have only increased as the playoff field has expanded. When Notre Dame beat Indiana by 10 points in the 2024-2025 playoff, for example, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit and other commentators exploded, saying that the Hoosiers didn't deserve to make the field over 9-3 teams with harder schedules.
In the 2025-2026 edition, the Alabama Crimson Tide were at the center of controversy, as the selection committee put them in because they're in the SEC, even though the SEC was wildly overrated this season. Notre Dame, meanwhile, despite most metrics ranking the Fighting Irish in the top 6-7 teams, was not selected.
Immediately afterward, discussion started about expanding the playoff further. Which did not happen, for this upcoming season, at least.
But what prevented an agreement for the 2026-2027 edition? And what will likely prevent further agreement? According to a new report, it's ego.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer of the Alabama Crimson Tide. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Egos in Big Ten, SEC, Preventing CFB Playoff Movement
Per On3's Brett McMurphy, "all 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua preferred the College Football Playoff to expand next season."
So why did it stay at 12? Because the two conferences that essentially demanded control of the process couldn't get along or make a decision. "The Two," the Big Ten and SEC, "can't even come to a decision," McMurphy's source said. Another described their deliberations as "disgusting."
"The SEC and Big Ten wrestled the power away and now have fumbled the opportunity to expand to 16 or more teams," another added. "They basically bullied their way into an agreement that provides them a lion’s share of revenue and control of the format. And, yet, they can’t work together because of their egos."
The disagreement stems from different visions for both the number of teams in the playoff, and how those teams are selected. The SEC's proposal, for a 16-team format with five conference champions and 11 at-large teams, is more widely supported. But because the Big Ten wants more teams and more automatic bids for the Power 4 conferences, nothing changed.
It might be that 12 teams is better than any of these proposals, keeping the playoff smaller, more exclusive, and making it more of an achievement than endless expansion. It also at least marginally preserves the traditional bowl season. Expanding to 24 teams, like the Big Ten wants, would push non-playoff bowls further and further down the hierarchy. But, of course, there's more money to be made with more playoff games. Expansion will always be on the table when schools and conferences are chasing every last dollar.
Though, like is so often the case in all walks of life, egos are preventing them from grabbing it.