The College Football Playoff is in its last year of its current 12-team iteration. The expectations are that the CFP will be expanding to either 16 or 14 teams for the 2026 season.
The current money is on the CFP moving to 16 teams. How those teams will be chosen is also up in the air. The SEC and Big Ten have previously proposed what is known as the 4-4-2-2-1 plan, meaning that they would both get four automatic qualifiers, and the ACC and Big XII would both get two, and the highest-ranked Group of Six team would get in as well, leaving three spots for Notre Dame and two other at-large selections.
The other idea comes from the Big XII and ACC, which is the five highest-ranked conference champs and then 11 at-large teams, aka 5+11. The SEC has recently started to come around to that idea thanks to the conference coaches wanting the possibility of even more access.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Ohio State Director of Athletics Ross Bjork was asked for his thoughts on which path forward would OSU support.
“Look, we can be really, really selfish here and say we should go back to a four-team playoff, and I think Ohio State will be really good, will be well positioned,” he said. “But for the good of the game, I think for our conference, I think expansion should happen. Fourteen or 16, I can kind of go either way.”
Bjork had several reasons for wanting the 4-4-2-2-1 scenario. Mainly that it will create bigger games, more content, more revenue, and the possibility of play-in games for the Big Ten.
“Look, I think in this world, one, I think players want to play high-level games, and then two, content,” he explained. “We need more content, because that will drive more revenue. That can drive more NIL opportunities for our athletes and third-party NIL. And so can we create play-in games that equate to automatic qualifiers? I think that’s a really good model.”
The 4-4-2-2-1 model with the automatic qualifiers and play-in games between the top six or eight teams would also eliminate one of the major concerns the system currently has.
“There’s a lot of debate about the committee, right? And what kind of metrics they have,” he said. “If you have automatic qualifying spots with play-in games, then you have more content, and you eliminate a lot of the committee dynamics that may get in the way. So that was our thought, we think, but again, take a step back. Let’s recalibrate these conversations. Let’s figure out what is the right model.”
According to Bjork, which ever model is selected won’t really impact Ohio State because the Buckeyes are “consistent in our performance” and what they’re doing in recruiting with head coach Ryan Day’s leadership will generally lead to playoff appearances.
What will be impacted around the sport, however, is the number of high-level non-conference games that fans and players want. As Bjork well knows, if the model goes to 5+11, those games are going to go away because the selection is going to become a beauty pageant instead of a battlefield.
“But that’s our perspective,” Bjork explained. “Let’s get the right model that I think produces more excitement, more content, makes the regular season matter. The fact that we’re playing Texas the next two years, Alabama the two years after that, Georgia down the road. If we’re gonna keep playing those games, then it needs to add up in the playoff calculation. Otherwise, you won’t see those games, and I think that’d be sad for college football.”
One of the other questions that still needs to be answered is what would happen to the Big Ten Championship Game should the 4-4-2-2-1 be adopted and play-in games enacted.
“Look, I think it depends,” Bjork said. “I mean, I think it provides a tremendous amount of value. But if you’re doing AQ spots with play-in games, could there be a different model, right? So, I think that’s a conversation that has to continue.”
All of these conversations will continue, but from Ohio State’s perspective, the 5+11 model is going to lead to fewer big-time games and fewer big-time opportunities for its football players.
And that would be a loss for everyone.
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