Even before Knute Rockne began to break forward passes as a secret weapon, the biggest advantage of college football was the surprise. Its appeal is basic and wonderful – based on the uncertainty of the outcome.
That’s because they are generally sold by non-scripted televisions. And the best selling scripted TV is sports. In this age of screens and legalized betting, the game is almost DVR proof. You/I/We need to know now!
College football playoffs using automatic qualifying have a bit less script and are actually a bit less reliable. Perhaps even the SEC and Big Ten athletic directors who gathered this week to discuss the playoffs will not know the basic truth.
The two meetings are among the biggest flexes in the history of the game, essentially fleeing and hiding in playoff access. With repeated attempts to acquire last year, this month’s SEC and Big Ten are expected to once again secure four automatic qualifying spots (AQs) each to begin in 2026.
They are warned of risks. Perhaps not in person, but meetings worthy of media rights consultants know the pitfalls. If college football results (heck, any sport) are known in advance, its unscripted charm will be lost.
It does not suggest that individual games are known. It clearly suggests that some of the CFP fields are known in advance in AQS. With four big ten spots trapped, something like Iowa can guarantee its location as early as November 1st, a month before the end of the season.
There’s nothing against Iowa, but it smells bad. More than that, it’s a winding up pro wrestling.
Scripted TV soap opera. Sorry, Rome rule and John Cena, we’re going there.
It may be as popular as WWE, but we still know that competition is fake. The results are pre-determined to promote the storyline. Pro wrestling is a form of entertainment, so there’s nothing wrong with it.
As with college football, it’s a very different way. When people start putting their fingers on parity scale, our sacred sports risk turning off the public. Having a playoff conversation about the best team and the most appropriate team is one thing. That’s what Iowa knows will finish in the Big Ten top four in a month. It could be easy where we are heading.
Last year, the SEC and the Big Ten came up with the idea that the two champions actually came in first and second in the playoffs. These two spots were guaranteed before the season began. At that point, why do you play the season?
There is no evidence that such a strange demand will come up this week, but the debate should remind you that college soccer has a ceiling. Money trains don’t necessarily keep rolling trucks. There is still a chance that a big dog could ruin this.
All sports have is their reputation. So, when sports betting was legalized seven years ago, university administrators were surprised. All you need is one scandal.
CFP has thrived to this point as the team is perceived largely as it is the right one. There have been some controversy (see Florida State in 2023), but the moment the masses lose faith in the process, the CFP has to It’s finished.
There is evidence that everything is not right. I was awfully stubbornly convinced that the playoffs could be set in the weekday big ve day semi-finals in 2015. These games tanked badly in ratings. In fact, since around 2018, the overall ratings for the CFP Championship Game have been uneven.
Since then, the game has essentially developed two new bosses: Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettitty and SEC counterpart Greg Sankey.
Their ads will gather together starting Wednesday to continue their discussion about the hostile takeover of sports. Another attempt will be made to expand the playoffs to at least 14 teams, according to Yahoo Sports. AQ moves to SEC (4), Big Ten (4), ACC (2), Big 12 (2), 5 (1), and AT-Large (1).
These vast changes will then need to be sold to the public outside the meeting room. Joe Six Pack votes remotely. If you don’t realize, the SEC and the Big Ten not only own CFPs, but also sports. They’ll get most of the money and no matter what happens, they’ll get most of the playoff berths. The remaining crumbs are left in the other seven meetings.
And maybe that’s what it should be. But all of that power has a sense of stewardship. They can’t ruin this.
Big Ten/SEC College Football playoff takeover is inevitable, but what if it’s actually the best solution?
Tom Fornelli
Remember the Iowa example? In early November 2024, CBS Sports estimated that 45-50 schools were still undergoing playoff runs. That claim was backed up by the original stakeholders who actually modeled the 12-team playoffs.
The number of candidates should be down as eight spots are already guaranteed in two power leagues. Simple Math also shows that even 14 teams have fewer spots available.
The problem is confusing. The Power 4 League is already bloated, so their teams aren’t playing half of the other teams in meeting action. It’s taking years now. This is the first year of 12 team brackets, which created the strength of the discourse and schedule surrounding Indiana.
So stakeholders can never ruin this. The warning sign continues to flash red. The latest championship game features two blue bloods: Notre Dame and Ohio. It was the fifth most viewed championship game since BCS began in 1998.
The evaluation is subject to many influences, large and small. If the league decides to expand to 18 regular season games, CFP will be more and less against the NFL. Playing the championship game on Monday night remains a challenge for evaluation. According to an industry source, the New Orleans terrorist attack will mark 5 million viewers, with the Sugar Bowl from January 1 to January 1st between Thursday afternoons. I’ve moved.
Obviously they couldn’t help it, but are other unknown people hiding there? Will the annual possibilities of three games in Michigan and Ohio improve their ratings? Too many good things are overkill.
And the right shoulder ESPN needs to make money in some way. Already whispered, global leaders are opposed to expansion and AQ.
It all guarantees more discrepancies in the rooms where Notre Dame gathers for the nine FBS meetings next week and for the annual CFP meeting.
“The (playoffs) can’t be an invitation,” Pete Bebaqua, a Notre Dame advert, recently told CBS Sports.
Most of the FBS meetings agree. However, the SEC and the Big Ten long ago took control of the CFP from their ranks and files. Each meeting earns 29% of its revenue. Do math. That is, 100 schools and seven meetings will split the remaining 42% of the revenue.
There have been reports that these two leagues have added votes in favour of AQ issues. However, CBS Sports has learned that there is still a contractual language that requires robust discussion of issues between members before the change.
But at the end of the day, the SEC and Big Ten can take the ball and go home. Sell the rights to the highest bidder for the playoffs that only include 34 teams. It could happen soon as the next decade begins.
These media rights are made through the roof. And, of course, the SEC and the Big Ten are saying that. These two leagues don’t care if the other 100 are involved. Both commissioners want a better game. The two leagues have already spoken about playing each other in a series of non-conference games, which will enhance the strength of their schedules and playoff access.
This issue is summarised in a central concern. The SEC and the Big Ten do not trust the Select Committee. In fact, they trust the selection committee and have a good selection of their team. Therefore, they want a guaranteed spot.
Some of it makes sense. The SEC and the Big Ten carry sports and deserve weighted stocks, influence and money. CBS Sports reported a year ago that the Big Ten and SEC have been combined since 1998 to occupy 62% of the 184 BC/CFP slot.
Big Ten’s inevitability and gain access, revenue and power for the College Football Playoffs
Dennis Dodd
The Big 12 and ACC may be against AQ. Two spots are guaranteed each year. ESPN does not have to pay any additional fees for expansion to 14 teams. However, 16 is another argument.
But why do they predetermine the field when the SEC and the Big Ten are strong enough to get those spots anyway? Some of the answers are clear.
At the biggest meeting (to date), Big Ten will need even more playoff access to 18 teams. If the SEC adds a ninth league game over the years, it probably needs an expansion and an AQS. The ninth game would guarantee that half of the league (8 teams) will suffer a loss by playing it. The expansion and AQS cushion the blow.
For now, the SEC and the Big Ten are coming for their own self-interest. It’s no surprise that three or four teams in the league make up 75-80% of the viewer. The SEC and the Big Ten are no exception. Other than that, industry standards have never been weaponized to this extent.
Don’t worry about Purdue, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Rutgers and Northwestern being included in this acquisition. The values of Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Alabama, LSU and Georgia are worthwhile.
But one day, Alabama will wake up and ask, “Why is Vandy making the same money as us?” The meeting will then be turned on yourself and begin cutting from within. That’s another argument.
For now, the SEC and the Big Ten have become very tag teams. I hope everything doesn’t develop into WrestleMania.
