Notre Dame AD Opposes Big Ten's CFP Bracket Model, 'You Have to Earn It on the Field'

The Big Ten continues to push for an expanded College Football Playoff format that would include four automatic berths for itself and the SEC, two automatic berths for the Big 12 and ACC, one bid for highest-ranking champion from the Group of 5 and three at-large bids.

Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua isn't a fan of that proposal.

"I happen to think that there should be automatic qualifiers for the Power 4 conference champions, and there should an automatic qualifier for the highest-rated G5 champion," he told Pete Sampson of The Athletic. "But then, whether it's 12, 14, or 16 (teams), I think you have to earn it on the field. And those should be at-large berths. I think that's the best way, the most repeatable way, to get the very best teams to compete for a national championship year-in and year-out. And I think most people agree with that. Both the decision makers, the general public, football fans, I think that's what people want to see."

That aligns more closely with the SEC's proposed 5+11 model (the five highest-ranked conference champions get automatic bids, followed by 11 at-large bids) and with the current 12-team format.

The Big Ten and SEC remain at odds over the next playoff format, for various reasons, and a compromise doesn't appear to be imminent. Consider Notre Dame more likely to align with the SEC's current proposal rather than the Big Ten's, however.