REPORT: SEC Could Expand Conference Schedule Amid New CFB Playoff Rumors

The Ole Miss Rebels could be in the hunt for an automatic qualifying bid in the College Football Playoff starting in 2026.

Nov 9, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin reacts near the end of the game during the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Ole Miss is set to play eight conference games in the SEC for the 2025 season, but that number could expand in the future due to the new format of the College Football Playoff.

SEC and Big Ten athletic directors met Wednesday in New Orleans for the second time in the last five months to discuss further plans built around the future of the expanded postseason. The current 12-team College Football Playoff field is expected to move to either 14 or 16 teams by 2026, with an assigned four automatic qualifiers per league to produce a financially-favored scheduling arrangement, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

One of the few parameters set in place for the notion to pass is for the SEC to move toward a nine-game conference schedule, similar to the Big Ten. Talks have only been insinuated, though nothing has been finalized as of Wednesday morning.

SEC ADs & coaches did discuss the potential to moving to nine conference games both Monday and Tuesday. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey says they have not made a decision but it does sound like several people in the room, at first against nine games, are re-thinking their position.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) February 19, 2025

Both SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said they favored a changing of seeding for the future of the College Football Playoff, including a switch in 2025. Given that the SEC and Big Ten bring in the most annual revenue per season, the two want seeding decided on the weekly rankings rather than giving an automatic bye for each conference champion. 

Either way, some athletic directors believe playoff expansion is coming to the College Football Playoff. It's only a matter of time.

“There’s got to be some tweaks. First year was good but like anything, there’s going to be some change. I think it gets expanded to give more teams an opportunity,” Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said, according to Yahoo Sports. “I think there will be expansion.”

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier talks with Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin before the start of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 23, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ole Miss, who missed out on the 12-team playoff in 2024, is expected to begin spring practice in March. The Rebels open the 2025 season against Georgia State on Aug. 30.