Officials from the Big Ten and SEC met in New Orleans on Wednesday, and there’s been much conjecture about what transpired, especially regarding the College Football Playoff.
According to ESPN’s Heather Dinich, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti want to see a “straight seeding” from the College Football Playoff committee ranking while guaranteeing spots for five champions.
Meanwhile, Yahoo! Sports reported that the two power conferences have ramped up conversations about expanding the CFP while ensuring they get more automatic qualifiers than other conferences. While those specifics haven’t been confirmed, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum cautioned the two conferences from overreaching despite their obvious dominance over the sport.
Appearing on Get Up, the SEC Network host said that while he understands the conferences have issues with the current seeding format, it would be “completely wrong” to guarantee three spots each to the SEC and Big Ten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyqW6M8J5RI
“I understand the seeding issue, but I believe they are completely wrong about guaranteeing bids,” Finebaum said. “Doing our show yesterday, even SEC fans are calling in saying they don’t like it. There’s something inherently wrong about stacking the deck before the season.
“Yeah, the SEC and the Big Ten are by far the best leagues, and last year, the SEC only got three, and there were three schools hanging on the ledge. But ultimately, you could have a year in, probably more in the Big Ten or the SEC, where you have two or three elite teams, and then your automatic third or fourth, or maybe your fourth, is an 8-4 team that probably doesn’t belong in there. So, I think it’s a bad move right now.”
While three (or even four) automatic bids might feel like a good idea for the two conferences that have overtaken the sport, it runs the risk of backfiring, especially if weaker Big Ten and SEC teams get in over other conference programs with better seasons. There will always be no shortage of complaining and concern over snubs with the CFP, but this kind of scenario could take things to another level.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.