US LBM Coaches Poll: Texas remains No. 1, Alabama slides after loss to Vanderbilt
The US LBM Coaches is out and it reflects what was a wild week 6 in college football featuring several upsets.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Do the SEC and Big Ten want this current 12-team College Football Playoff format to extend beyond next season?
Neither conference boss would answer that question Thursday.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey offered two words in response to whether he’d like to continue this format past next season.
“We’ll see,” Sankey said.
Commissioners and athletics directors from the Big Ten and SEC gathered for a summit here Thursday to discuss topics including the future format of the playoff, the possibility of more Big Ten vs. SEC nonconference matchups, and the implications of the House legal settlement that will unlock revenue-sharing for athletes.
The commissioners had plenty to say about private equity, with both Sankey and Big Ten counterpart Tony Petitti slamming the idea of third-party investors taking the reins of college football’s direction.
They had far less to say about their preference for the playoff format, but their meeting and remarks afterward amounted to a show of strength that could be interpreted as: Either the playoff committee rewards the Big Ten and SEC with a sizable number of at-large bids, or else Sankey and Petitti could bust out their collective sledgehammer and smash this format.
“Who qualifies, how the committee evaluates strength of schedule,” Petitti said, as to what he’ll be closely monitoring from the playoff process this season.
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The current playoff format guarantees automatic bids for the top five conference champions. The remaining seven playoff spots are decided via at-large selection by a 13-member selection committee.
“I want to see what happens with the evaluation (of those at-large bids),” Sankey said.
Teams seeded Nos. 5 through 8 will host first-round games. The top four conference champions will receive a bye.
This format ensures participation from a minimum of five conferences, but it does not guarantee any more than one bid to any conference. Mathematically, a conference could qualify up to eight teams, but a conference qualifying up to four or five teams seems like a more realistic ceiling.
This format is approved for this season and next. After next season, the format is subject to change. The future format will not feature a field smaller than 12 teams, but it could be more. And, how bids are assigned could evolve, too.
“Our focus on future format comes after we go through this first cycle of the expanded College Football Playoff,” Sankey said.
The Big Ten and SEC don’t enjoy unilateral control over the playoff format, but they wield the biggest sticks in determining the playoff’s direction.
“We do have a defined role where we have to be clear participants at the end of the conversation,” Sankey said, regarding the Big Ten and SEC’s role in influencing the future playoff format.
And, at least by appearances Thursday, the leaders of these two conferences plan to be united as they offer that final word in determining the future playoff format.
Representatives from other conferences were not present at Thursday’s summit. Sankey stressed that the SEC and Big Ten are not working toward a full-fledged separation from the other conferences.
“I think that’s a created perception,” Sankey said. “… We recognize that we’re part of a bigger ecosystem, but we’re also interested in what we might achieve together.”
And, together, they could bend the future playoff format to something more to their liking, if they decide they desire a change.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
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