What we'd like (and dislike) about an SEC, Big Ten exclusive playoff
The “Power 2” are super buddies all of a sudden after last week’s announcement that the Big Ten and SEC are forming an advisory group aimed at solving some issues facing college sports.
Will this alliance produce a breakaway, at least in football, of the NCAA’s two richest and most powerful conferences? Could the Big Ten and SEC say farewell to the College Football Playoff in a few years and launch their own postseason exclusive to the “Power 2?”
Sure, it's possible. Likely? Probably not. At least not in the short-term.
If it happened, though, what would be the upside and downside to an SEC/B1G playoff?
On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams discuss the idea of a “Power 2” postseason and debate what they like about the possibility and what they dislike.
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Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Positives of an SEC/B1G playoff
1. Better regular-season scheduling. As it is now, SEC teams generally play about three nonconference cupcake games per season. If the “Power 2” broke away and stuck to playing each other, you can scrub a September snoozer like Alabama vs. Middle Tennessee off the docket in favor of, say, Alabama vs. Oregon. That's a plus.
2. New rivalries form. Teams from the Big Ten and SEC don’t play often. Consider, Georgia and Ohio State – two of college football’s preeminent programs – have played only twice. Ever. Both meetings occurred in the postseason. Get these two conferences together under one roof, and it will increase the frequency that college football’s top brands meet and offer a stage for the formation of new rivalries.
3. A more clear-cut postseason format. An alliance of the SEC/B1G could produce a more straightforward postseason selection process, modeled after the NFL, with division winners and wild cards selected based off of records. Scheduling would be more equitable, too.
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Downsides of an SEC/B1G playoff
1. College football loses some charm. There’s no denying this sport is big business, and amateurism is a fairy tale to which the NCAA would like to cling, but no one sane really believes exists anymore. But, are we ready for a world in which Oklahoma and Oklahoma State don’t compete for the same national championship, or Oregon and Oregon State? The beauty of the 12-team playoff that debuts this season is it earmarks access for every power conference, plus a spot for the Group of Five. Nothing can replicate March Madness, but this 12-team format could be the best iteration of college football’s postseason. Trading that in so quickly for an SEC/B1G playoff would be a paradigm-shifting change. Worth it? We’re not convinced.
2. Would regular-season games lose some meaning? Let’s say an SEC/B1G playoff featured six bids for each conference. Wouldn’t that water down the regular season? Is the Iron Bowl going to mean as much if both teams would meet again in a first-round playoff game?
3. A playoff exclusive to the SEC/B1G would omit some key teams. Northwestern and Vanderbilt are going to be eligible to compete for the top prize but not Clemson or Florida State? Forget it. For a playoff exclusive to college football's best programs to be taken seriously, then it needs to actually include the best programs, not most of the best programs, minus a few, and plus Northwestern and Vandy.
4. This would become a mini-NFL. The rankings, drama and controversy of college football’s postseason selection process make it unique from the NFL. An SEC/B1G playoff modeled after the NFL might seem like the NFL Lite, rather than a unique product.
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Later in this episode
– Adams and Toppmeyer unveil their top five SEC quarterbacks for 2024. Their lists feature the same quarterbacks, but in a different order.
– Who has the upper hand in the Tennessee vs. NCAA legal drama? The NCAA gained an early lead, but Tennessee remains the favorite in this court case, one of the many antitrust lawsuits the NCAA faces.
Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. John Adams is the senior columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. You can subscribe to their podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, or check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What we'd like (and dislike) about an SEC, Big Ten exclusive playoff
