SEC Play-In Games? The CFP Format Debate Has Gotten Out Of Control, It's Not That Difficult

Once again, we are on the brink of change in college football, as leaders from the Big Ten and SEC met this week to discuss what the playoff format will look like after the 2025 season. 

Lost in all the lobbying for a potential 14 or 16-team playoff in 2026 is the fact that this whole situation is way too complicated, when, in reality, a simple solution could fix it all. 

How about we just seed the best teams based on the final CFP rankings? It's not rocket science, but more so just reality. The best 14 or 16 teams make the playoff, and the top teams get a first-round bye, which would then give college football leaders the opportunity to play two rounds of games on campuses across the country. 

Trust me, I understand that we're talking about more money, which every school in the country would love to see. Teams from the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC are still going to be paying out their postseason cash to each team within the conferences. So yes, the ones that don’t make the playoff are going to get their cut. 

But some of this posturing about automatic qualifiers and how to decide which teams will represent each conference has gotten a bit out of control. Sure, if the SEC and Big Ten want four spots each, they’re going to get them, more so, because those two leagues have the power to make these decisions based on the new contract that was put into place to please them both. 

COLUMBUS, OHIO - DECEMBER 21: A detail view of the CFP Playoff First Round logo is seen on pylon in action during the College Football Playoff First Round game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on December 21, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

And while all of this is going on, we have a few interesting proposals being thrown out by members of the SEC regarding its championship weekend that feel more like a money grab, than actually rewarding them for where they finished in the regular season standings. 

One report on Wednesday was a head-scratcher, and it all centered around how to decide who are the four best teams in the SEC. 

We Don't Need ‘Play-In’ Games On Championship Weekend 

Since the early portion of the 2024 season, there had been conversations floating around the SEC on how to capitalize on championship weekend, with a majority of it centered around the idea of having a basketball-like play-in scenario for teams ranked 3-6. 

According to  multiple reports, and confirmed by OutKick, there have been discussions about having the two top-ranked teams in the SEC play for a title, with the winner getting the automatic bye in the playoff. OK, cool. So, exactly what we witnessed this past season. But then, there's a scenario where the teams ranked 3rd and 6th would play in one game, while the 4th and 5th ranked teams would play in another. 

The winners of those two play-in games would garner automatic bids to the college football playoff. I think you see where this is headed. Are we trying to turn championship weekend into the ‘first four’ like the NCAA Tournament? 

Obviously, this is not some idea that's set in stone, but these are the type of scenarios that are at least being discussed between ADs and coaches. How about we just give the top-ranked teams a bid, and not force schools to play another game before the postseason starts? 

The more we get into this, the more it sounds like NFL Wild Card weekend, which is not needed in this sport. 

"There have been a bunch of ideas thrown out over the past seven months, knowing we were headed towards playoff expansion. But, we have to be smart about how we approach this. What are we going to do, have three games played over a 2-day period to decide who gets into the playoff," one AD who attended the meetings this week told OutKick. 

"It doesn’t have to be so complicated, because at the end of the day, we're going to get our fair share of teams into the postseason. Let's just make sure we're getting the best teams in, even though that won't stop the arguments about who they actually are, besides the top-two." 

Just Seed These CFP Teams Based Off The Rankings

One of the discussions led by the SEC and Big Ten this week centered around how teams are seeded in the postseason. While both conferences are pushing for a potential change to the 2025 playoff format, with Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti making it clear that they would like to see the postseason format centered around how teams are ranked 1-16 or 1-14, the likelihood of this changing for the upcoming season are pretty slim. 

While the SEC and Big Ten might control what the playoff format looks like in 2026, they would need other conferences to agree on changing the seeding for 2025, and other conferences are not onboard with this idea. It would need to be a unanimous vote for the twelve-team playoff to be seeded based on committee rankings, not automatic byes for other conferences, like what we saw with Arizona State and Boise State. 

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: Riley Leonard #13 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

OK, great. Move on from this topic for 2025 and focus on how we can make sure the best teams are seeded ‘correctly’ in 2026 and beyond. Again, this isn't rocket science, and I don't have enough degrees to come up with some radical formula. 

But I do know what makes sense, as do most college football viewers across the country. We're already getting a number of high-quality non-conference games each season, with the Big Ten and SEC discussing an agreement to play more games between conference members each season. 

Fantastic. I'll take Georgia playing at Ohio State, Alabama traveling to Oregon or Michigan playing in Knoxville against Tennessee. But let's make sure that the games in September and early October actually play a part in how we seed these teams in December. 

The CFP Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated

Sometimes we get caught up in way too many dynamics that could ‘help’ the sport, when in reality college football is doing just fine with what it already is. Did you see some of the ratings from this past season? 

It's pretty simple if you just strip everything down. If they decide to change the format, which they are going to do, then put the best fourteen or sixteen teams in college football in the playoff. Seed them based off how the committee ranks them, throw out the automatic-bye scenario, and give them to the top-4 teams in the country and be done with it. 

But, let's make sure to cater to the fans in the process. You know, the ones that are paying out the ass to attend these postseason playoff games. 

How about a few more on-campus games? This is certainly a better atmosphere. Just ask the folks in Columbus, South Bend, State College and Austin. 

College football conferences are going to get their money from television contracts and ticket revenue. So as we navigate the future of this sport, let's keep in mind the folks who are continuing to pay for this product, even with all the changes. 

That would be the fans.