SEC-Big Ten standoff on CFP future may be for the best

Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

By Chris Marler

The college football offseason has been exhausting over the last several years. Constant change, expansion, and more than anything else, greed, have been the themes of the eight month window between seasons.

I’m sure this offseason will be more of the same in some capacity. For the time being however, it looks like college football playoff expansion will not be one of the changes on the docket. At least not yet.

That’s because the two power four conferences that seem to be ruining, sorry I mean running, college football are at an impasse on what to do next. We are finishing year two of the 12 team college football playoff, and there’s already a yearning to increase that number.

We all know how this is going to play out. We hated the BCS because Alabama and LSU had their rematch in 2011 and Oklahoma State was the odd team out. Then we hated the four team playoff because teams like 2014 TCU, 2015 Ohio State, and 2023 Florida State were the odd teams out of that format. So instead of expanding to six or eight, we overcorrected and went to 12.

This will shock you, but the teams at 13 and 14 were then furious that they were left out. Naturally, it’s time to expand again because surely a 16 or 24 team playoff won’t result in fans and media being irate over the 17th and 25th teams being left out in those hypothetical scenarios.

NEWS: The SEC would rather keep the College Football Playoff at 12 teams than expand to 24, @Clowfb reports. Greg Sankey is targeting a 16-team field.

Sources tell @Brett_McMurphy the Big Ten has not moved off the idea of expanding to 24👀https://t.co/Z3xoJYol5W pic.twitter.com/0CAnn4kePp

— On3 (@On3) January 18, 2026

The current impasse is that the Big Ten wants 24 teams and the SEC wants 16. For what it’s worth, no one besides the Big Ten wants 24 teams. Every other conference and Notre Dame have all agreed to 16, but that would mean a loss for the Big Ten. The conference with the most “new money” energy despite being one of the oldest conferences in the country. Two decades worth of being under the metaphorical heel of the SEC has ruined any ability to compromise.

We thought Congress was bad. College football may be worse.

I’m not mad over expansion anymore. I’m numb. I’m apathetic. I’m over it.

There’s nothing anyone can do anymore to stop the snowball rolling down the hill. It’s been an avalanche for a while now. What’s frustrating is that finally someone is telling one of the two power conferences no, and it doesn’t seem to make a dent into their lack of self awareness that they’re damaging the sport.