College football could change playoff after backlash: report

College football's playoff could undergo a change soon after the CFP got some blowback from a plan benefiting the SEC and Big Ten

Almost as soon as the College Football Playoff expanded from four teams to 12 in a field that will debut this postseason, there is already a very credible belief that the format could expand again in the near future, with talks that the playoff could swell to 14 teams two years from now.

But in particular, the CFP is apparently going back to the drawing board after getting some serious blowback from a recent idea it had for the field.

That idea included a prospective plan to give the SEC and Big Ten champions both automatic first-round byes in the playoff going forward.

But that proposal has lost much of any steam it had after other conferences voiced their strong opinions against it, forcing the College Football Playoff to re-think the plan, according to ESPN reporter Heather Dinich.

Reps from the SEC and Big Ten have been looking to use their outsized influence — both leagues are undergoing historic expansion projects this year and have emerged as college football's two super-conferences — to mold the new-look playoff in a way that benefits themselves, culminating in this reported plan to get automatic byes.

Dinich quoted TCU coach Sonny Dykes comparing the SEC and Big Ten proposal to give their champions a first-round bye to "the NFL saying the Cowboys get a first-round bye since they have more fans than the Bengals," and called the idea "preposterous."

Whatever the plan will be, it's expected that the College Football Playoff will indeed expand even further from 12 teams as soon as the 2026 postseason.

But the clock is running: as the CFP sorts out its future, it's also under some pressure from ESPN to get it done, as insiders have noted the network could consider pulling its reported 6-year, $7.8 billion offer if the playoff doesn't decide a format soon.

(ESPN)

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