Does the Big Ten need a CFP expansion?
The Big Ten placed two teams in the final four, and one of them will make the national championship game. They won the championship last year.
Even if the CFP expands to 16 teams, I don’t see the B10 benefiting much, as the conference is top heavy. How many more B10 teams would have gotten into the CFP?
I know the other conferences want a 16 team CFP but why should the B10 agree to a CFP expansion without autobids?
4 Replies
6mo
an individual conference. For The B1G, suppose they get their best three teams in a 12 or 16 place
bracket. Are they at a disadvantage to an SEC who has five teams on the bracket? I don't see it. If The B1G could have a 4th, 5th, 6th team, they might have some low-value bragging rights, but the realistic chance for a championship lies among those top three. I'll reconsider this opinion when I see a championship go to a team that occupies fourth place conference rank after the regular season.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
7mo
OU and A&M lost to lower seeded teams. And Alabama got blown out so bad that even JMU was blushing.
The SEC wants to lay claim to the mantle of "the most difficult conference" to garner all the at-large bids themselves. But the reality on the ground says otherwise.
Texas Tech screwed over the Big XII and really the ACC and G5 if you want to get real, but let's not bury the lede. The SEC ain't all that, even if Ole Miss wins it all.
** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 1/3/2026, 1:52:37 AM
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
7mo
year shows just how subjective the final poll can be, of course the Big Ten wants to expand the field because that means a "better" opportunity to potentially secure most/all of the 11 at-large bids. What conference wouldn't enjoy having 12 of the 16 participating teams from their conference?
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
7mo
If one or more of Campbell at PSU, Fitzgerald at MSU or Whittingham at UM (or if Wisconsin or USC can ever put together a good run again), The Big 10 will be in contention for 4 or 5 spots in a 16-team field. It has a lot of capable programs and in an 18-team conference where you don't play half the league annually, somebody is bound to benefit from a favorable schedule and get in based on record and conference affiliation alone.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)