SEC Schedule Change 'Certainly Helps' Progress Toward CFP Resolution, Big Ten AD Says

There is now more uniformity across conferences in college football, and that could mean the SEC and Big Ten are one step closer to agreeing on the format of the College Football Playoff for the 2026 season.

On Thursday, the SEC announced its members will play nine conference games starting with the 2026 campaign. Each school will play three set opponents every year and then rotate the other six games.

What's more, SEC schools will be required to schedule at least one nonconference game against an opponent from either the Big Ten, Big 12 or ACC. Facing Notre Dame would satisfy that requirement as well.

"It certainly helps," a Big Ten athletic director told Brett McMurphy of On 3 when asked if Thursday's news could lead to a CFP compromise.

Big Ten and Big 12 teams already play nine conference games, and McMurphy noted the ACC has suggested in the past it could move to nine if the SEC does.

The Big Ten and SEC have the power to decide what the CFP will look like in the future, although the deadline to expand to 16 teams for 2026 is Nov. 30. If they cannot come to terms on something by then, the current 12-team format will remain in place for another year.

As McMurphy explained, there has been a split between the two conferences with the SEC preferring a 5+11 model with five automatic bids to conference champions and 11 at-large bids. By comparison, the Big Ten has preferred a 4-4-2-2-1 model that gives four automatic bids to the Big Ten, four to the SEC, two to the Big 12, two to the ACC, one to a Group of 16 champion and three at-large bids.

It isn't difficult to see why the Big Ten would be hesitant to go with a model that features so many at-large bids if its league was playing one more conference game than the SEC.

An additional league game means half of the teams in the conference will have one more loss on their resumes. That decreases the chances at an at-large bid for those teams that lose while also hurting the collective strength of schedule for everyone. 

For example, a marquee win over a two-loss team turning into a win over a three-loss team would be less appealing to a committee splitting hairs between contenders from different conferences.

However, the SEC now playing nine league games means more equality between the sport's two most important conferences.

"It's hard to tell," another Big Ten AD said when discussing whether Thursday's announcement will facilitate an agreement. "It would really depend what criteria are used by the (College Football Playoff) selection committee. My concern is it's hard to get an apples to apples (comparison) in the (at-large) teams ranked between 12 and 16.

"We'll consider anything that makes sense. The SEC going to nine games is a step in a direction of conformity to be sure."

There are still approximately three months until the deadline to reach a decision, but the 5+11 model is surely more appealing to the Big Ten if the SEC is going to play nine conference games.