ACC, Big 12 Will Regret It If They Don't Stand Up To Power-2 Bullies SEC, Big Ten In CFP Fight | Trey Wallace
Conference commissioners outside the Big Ten and SEC have a big decision to make over the next few weeks as the college football playoff decides on how to move forward with a 14-team playoff starting in 2026.
Are officials from the ACC and Big 12 going to call the Power-2's bluff, or do they accept the fact that the landscape around college football is going to be tilted towards the mega powers? At some point over the next few weeks, a decision will be made on how many automatic qualifiers each conference will get, how much money is spread-out among members, and whether the two power conferences -- the Big Ten and the SEC -- receive the first-round byes.
As Yahoo Sports reported, and OutKick has confirmed, the SEC and Big Ten have thrown another option on the table concerning the future delegation process of bids for the playoff. Among a number of different models that members of the committee are discussing, one of them pertains to the SEC and Big Ten, who have asked to be guaranteed the top-two seeds in the new playoff format, for their conference champions.
The ongoing discussions that were held in Dallas and Indianapolis over the past week have centered around how much other conferences are willing to sacrifice to the SEC and Big Ten to make this deal go through. We already know that ESPN is just waiting for pen to be put to paper on a new television rights package that would see the CFP make upwards of $7.8 billion over the course of a six-year deal.
This would give the company full broadcasting rights to the college football playoff, which will lead to a massive return on investment when it comes to advertising and imaging deals. Now, all that's left to be completed is the actual format of the playoff, which is heading towards fourteen teams starting in 2026. All of this is happening before we even began the 12-team playoff that was going to change the sport of college football, until negotiations started for a bigger field of teams.
But as members of the committee try to find the right format that will please every conference in the sport, most have come to the realization that whichever format is pushed through, the mega-powers are going to get the majority of the pie. And, maybe they should, given that both the Big Ten and SEC have pretty much had a permanent reservation for the playoffs since its inception.
CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 02: A general view of the ACC Championship logo at midfield during the ACC Football Championship matchup of the Clemson Tigers and Miami Hurricanes at Bank of America Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
While all of this is true, and both will have the best roster of teams in college football from top to bottom, it doesn't mean that other conferences are just going to agree to all these terms, in fear of the Power-2 breaking off and forming their own football division.
The financial aspects that have been discussed in these meetings would have the SEC and Big Ten receiving anywhere between 25% and 30% of the college football playoff revenue. The new-look Big 12 would receive between 15% and 20%, while the rest of the conferences would take between 6-10% of the revenue, leaving Notre Dame with a 1%-2% corner of the pie.
Are Opposing Conferences Ready To Say ‘No’ To The SEC, Big Ten
This is one of the bigger questions surrounding these meetings, which will continue next week in a virtual format. According to multiple sources that are familiar with ongoing talks, the ACC and Big 12 have not taken these potential solutions kindly. I don't think you can blame them one bit, given that both conferences have a product that is worth watching, and teams that have enough power to cause chaos in the playoffs.
It's like playing with ‘loaded dice’, one conference AD told OutKick. The argument centers around what it would look like if we once again enter the final week of the regular season and have an undefeated team in the ACC or Big 12, but just because it's the SEC and Big Ten, they get the first-round bye. We saw how this played out last season with Florida State, who went undefeated, but lost Jordan Travis to an injury.
What if that scenario were to play-out in the future, which it most likely will, and we're not having the argument over which team deserves the first-round bye because it was already agreed that it would go to an SEC or Big Ten champion. This precedent has been a focal point of this format presented to committee members, among others.
It was already reported that both conferences were looking for 4 automatic qualifiers, then that number came down to three for the Big Ten and SEC, so a combined six automatic bids to the playoff. That would leave two automatic spots for the ACC and Big 12, with the best Group of Five team receiving one spot, while the other three go to the highest ranked teams at the time.
So, we've gone from four bids each for the Power-2, down to 3 each, but in the meantime, they both want the top-2 seeds in the playoff, which are bye's. You also have to remember that these are different formats being floated around for consideration.
But at this point of negotiations and pandering for votes, we're getting mighty close to the 30-day deadline that Bill Hancock floated last week in Dallas.
At some point, the ACC and Big 12 are going to have to draw a line in the sand and tell the Power-2 "No Mas", that's it. You get three automatic bids each, but for the sanctity of college football, you're not getting an automatic first-round bye, and we'll see you at the finish line of the 2026 regular season.
If they don't stand-up to the SEC and Big Ten, the other conferences will continue taking a backseat to every problem that might arise in the sport over the next decade.
We've already reached a fork in the road for 2026 and beyond, without even starting the new twelve-team playoff format. What happens when further conference realignment happens in the next three to four years?
I'll go ahead and tell you. Both the Big Ten and SEC are going to come back to the dinner table and slice up another piece of pie, this time much bigger, and there certainly won't be enough for anyone else.