College Football Playoff: Jockeying for Position Will Push Decision to September

Kirk Bohls from the Austin American-Statesman dropped some pretty interesting news on the upcoming college football playoff decisions that remain to be made. Bohls reported in the Statesman that we might be waiting until September for a playoff format to come down the pipes for the future of college football:

"

Brace yourselves, but industry sources say the new playoff format for college football might not be adopted until perhaps September, because the 12 members of the presidential oversight committee will have only four hours on June 26 in Washington, D.C., to digest, consider and approve one of the options handed them by the 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director.

"

"Might" is the operative word here.

Perhaps some folks are eternal optimists and can still see the presidential oversight committee reaching an agreement, even in the four-hour meeting in June. Me? I'm a realistic guy. This is not about disagreement over format or just haggling over the minutiae. This decision is far from its "the devil's in the details" moment of crossing t's and dotting i's. 

As it stands now, we're still staring at four conferences holding the bulk of the power, and as they remain split into two factions—Big Ten and Pac-12 versus the Big 12 and SEC—we're far from just a "might" when it comes to the decision.

This is a pure power play by the best conferences, and as each of the two factions battle it out, neither is going to quickly concede or compromise. In short, September should be a given in most fans' eyes.

Bohls expands upon the topic:

"

I'm told by an industry source that the Pac-12 and Big Ten feel that the SEC and Big 12 may be trying to "railroad through" a four-team tournament, when the former two conferences are advocating a plus-one idea after the existing bowl games. "This thing is very fluid," he said. "These men are looking at this as their legacy."

"

That should let folks know just how serious this all is going to be.

The Pac-12 and Big Ten are still clinging to the plus-one idea, as their idea of a conference champions-only four-team playoff has been rebuffed. Anytime words like "railroad" are used to describe negotiations, one can expect a long, arduous path.

Lines have been drawn in the sand, and with these two factions squarely set against one another, we are gearing up for a long wait on college football's future.

The Big 12 and SEC are loading up their war chests, as the Pac-12 and Big Ten do the same. This is going to be a Cold War-type summer for big-time college football, and no decisions will be arrived at quickly.

Neither side has designs on backing down, and we shall see who wins this war of wills, hopefully by September.