I thought it could be another 'we want to play 9 conference games' head fake, but the SEC will go to 9 conference games in 2026.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/sec-adopts-nine-game-conference-slate-commissioner-greg-sankey-explains-how-new-cfp-metrics-spurred-move/

The Football Playoff Committee agreeing to use an 'enhanced metric' to determine strength of schedule sealed the deal for Sankey and the It Just Means More Conference. Which means that Tony P and his B1G IT guys better take a close look at the new metric programming.

Assuming the new metric and its use thereof pass the B1G smell test, far more important than the eye test 😁, this will likely result in the 5 highest-ranked conference champions and 11 at-large teams beginning in 2026.

This should also allow, subject to schedule changes, an annual B1G/SEC football challenge.

The Devil is of course in the details but this could be a positive for the Power 2 and all of college football.

What? No head fake?

1 minute ago, woundedknees said:

What? No head fake?

And no bowl game for Mark Stoops?

As Sankey noted, 'not everyone,' a/k/a the coaches, is in favor of this move. But the money won out. Who knew? 🤑

For this to have happened, I think ESPN will be writing a larger check to the SEC.

On3's thoughts on whether the B1G will support the 5-11 model.

On3

SEC moving to 9-game schedule strengthens odds of Big Ten...

Now that the SEC has expanded to a nine-game conference schedule, will the Big Ten agree to a College Football Playoff model?

Winners, losers as SEC adopts 9-game schedule: Fans should rejoice, Big Ten loses leverage amid CFP talks

The SEC announced the long-awaited move on Thursday as talks over settling a future CFP format continue

Indeed, I think the SEC is actually the winner here. I personally don’t think this is going to be the victory we imagined the last 20 years, or as impactful as it would have been during the 4 team playoff era, when there was a P5 and zero guaranteed spots. I read this as a 9-3 (8-4?) SEC team will now get the nod over most 10-win teams in the current playoff structure. 10-2 Indiana over 9-3 Alabama? Nope.

I also think this is temporary. There will be some type of 60-ish team top division/super league and about 30-40% of those teams will play in a post season playoff, and much sooner than later.

Edited Friday at 04:35 PM2 days by JabbaNoBargain

4 hours ago, JabbaNoBargain said:

10-2 Indiana over 9-3 Alabama? Nope.

Unless Alabama is now 8-4 because they have to replace Mercer or Western Kentucky with a Texas, Ole Miss, Florida, et al.

(Alabama did lose to Vanderbilt, a bad Oklahoma team and a mediocre Michigan team last season so there are very few gimmes, especially on the road, in conference play.)

Edited Friday at 09:03 PM1 day by OregonDucks

4 hours ago, JabbaNoBargain said:

Indeed, I think the SEC is actually the winner here. I personally don’t think this is going to be the victory we imagined the last 20 years, or as impactful as it would have been during the 4 team playoff era, when there was a P5 and zero guaranteed spots. I read this as a 9-3 (8-4?) SEC team will now get the nod over most 10-win teams in the current playoff structure. 10-2 Indiana over 9-3 Alabama? Nope.

I also think this is temporary. There will be some type of 60-ish team top division/super league and about 30-40% of those teams will play in a post season playoff, and much sooner than later.

Friend Jabba, I have to demur.

The B1G has agreed to nothing regarding playoff expansion in 2026 and thereafter. Notwithstanding all of the populist slings and arrows fired at Tony P, the B1G stayed strong with the AQ format proposal and even leaked a larger PO field proposal, at least in part intended to have the SEC play 9 conference games.

'The SEC wins' is, IMO, more knee-jerk reaction from those who do not understand big-time business strategy.

If the new metric is not SEC-centric, FPI-driven, as the other Power 2 member, the B1G should benefit from the strength of its schedules. 13 B1G teams play 10 P4 opponents in 2025, compared to 3 SEC teams.

Yes, the SEC if the 9-game schedule and 1 P4 OOC opponent is adopted in 2026, will have all 16 teams playing 10 P4 games. However, like the B1G, not all OOC games will be against the CBB equivalent of Quad 1 or Quad 2 opponents.

The key is the neutrality of the metrics the CFB committee intends to use, but I believe Tony P will seek assurances in this regard. And come 2032, if your prediction is correct, the B1G, if there is not a Super Conference with a playoff of its own, can crater a potentially agreed-upon 5-11 model.

Who knows? With the enhanced metrics, it's possible that 9-3 Illinois, with a win over then-ranked No. 16 Kansas, could have been in the 2024-25 playoff field.

To date, with your possibly spot-on caveat in mind, I see the SEC going to nine conference games being no worse than a push for the B1G. The biggest loser is likely the B12, with many OOC games versus the SEC likely to be bought out, especially by the SEC schools with traditional in-state ACC opponents.

The B12 possibly becoming more irrelevant was one of Jon Wilner's takes on the SEC going to nine. Especially, if the money-making B1G/SEC OOC Challenge comes to fruition.

Let's Play Ball!

This posturing is all about the “Benjamin’s “, nothing more, and nothing less.

A conference commissioner, worth his salt, is trying to secure the financial well being of all conference members. A number of Colleges athletics departments are operating at a loss, the future of many sports depends on the revenue generated from football.

The CFP is a big slice of pie. However, to participate in the playoff, conferences should have basic guidelines to participate. 9 conference games is a solid start.

As an aside, Notre Dame should be required to join a conference to be a viable participant.

Light Up a Cig? After his dissing on the SEC schedules and the SEC going to 9 + a P4, Cig should shut up?

From a B1Gger viewpoint, Cig helped smoke the It Just Means More gang into going to 9 conference games.

Let's Spin again, and again, and again.

Hoosier State of Mind

Social Media Reacts to Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti b...

Starting in 2026, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) will expand its football league schedule to nine regular-season conference games, ending years of speculatio

Sigh. How about Tony P was playing chess when Greg S was playing checkers?

Is it a B1G win for the SEC to go to nine conference games? The B1G has lost leverage?

Have any CFB scribes out there advanced beyond Finance 101?

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/winners-losers-as-sec-adopts-9-game-schedule-fans-should-rejoice-big-ten-loses-leverage-amid-cfp-talks/

Lose leverage? We got more of...

I am so tired of all the pre-season wrangling, Let's tee the ball up and get between the lines. There will still be lots to wrangle about guys. I am even planning to take in a couple Week 0 games which I almost never do. It is time for football!!!

Lots of great takes friends.

Should we place bets on which conference gets more teams in the 2026-27 playoff?

Edited yesterday at 06:10 AM1 day by JabbaNoBargain

I heard on one of those YouTube podcasts "The Monty Show" that there is talk of a twenty team format. According to him the SEC was only holding the nine game card was because they wanted the B1G to agree to their preferred format and by acting like going to nine games was a huge sacrifice that the B1G got a huge win.

But others have said Sankey folded. I'm kind of over hearing about realignment and CFP negotiations. Football is officially back! Iowa State won a Big Twelve top 25 showdown vs Kansas State in Ireland. UNLV which is a trendy G05 playoff team is in a twenty four to twenty four point deadlock with Idaho State. Playoff implications in week zero?

Don't know how they could ever do this in figuring strength of schedule, but shouldn't some tweak be made for scheduling shafts some teams must endure. One that is irking me at the moment as a Dawg fan is that our two highest regular season opponents, Alabama and Texas were awarded bye weeks before coming to Sanford Stadium to take on my puppies, whereas the Dawgs have league games those weeks. This may prove to be of little consequence in September when we play the Tide, but could prove to be a major advantage for Texas in November when more guys are nicked up and dragging. Sure wish the Dawgs had had a similar advantage last year when we played these teams at their places.

Sorry for the whiny rant on such a glorious day--the return of college football. It was grand, no?

10 hours ago, Nevada Dawg said:

Don't know how they could ever do this in figuring strength of schedule, but shouldn't some tweak be made for scheduling shafts some teams must endure. One that is irking me at the moment as a Dawg fan is that our two highest regular season opponents, Alabama and Texas were awarded bye weeks before coming to Sanford Stadium to take on my puppies, whereas the Dawgs have league games those weeks. This may prove to be of little consequence in September when we play the Tide, but could prove to be a major advantage for Texas in November when more guys are nicked up and dragging. Sure wish the Dawgs had had a similar advantage last year when we played these teams at their places.

Sorry for the whiny rant on such a glorious day--the return of college football. It was grand, no?

Thanks, ND. The tables have turned, and it's great to see Bama, Texas, and Ole Miss having to visit Athens this season. Between UGA's road schedule and Oregon playing eight B1G opponents in a row without a break, the schedules seem easier, but aren't easy, especially for your Dawgs, than last season.

The CBB Committee's Quad System gives a team the same credit for a road win against a Quad 2 opponent as it does for a Quad 1 home win. So, home versus road wins are factored in. But bye weeks are not, as a week or two off in season is unique to football.

The CFB Committee uses SportsSource Analytics as its source for strength of schedule (SOS) and strength of record, supposedly at least. Boise State's SOS last season did not qualify for its No. 9 seed. At least I hope not, because if it did, send out an SOS on SportsSource. The CFB committee's use of any and every metric has been hidden from the public. Will this change in 2025?

Before moving to nine conference games, unless he received 'inside information' from the CFB committee concerning possible programming changes to the metric and how the committee intends to use it, Greg Sankey accepted verbal assurances from the same group that arguably disadvantaged 3-loss SEC teams last season. No comprende.

I did note Commissioner Sankey's admonition to the committee that the SEC will be watching to see how the committee ranks and seeds this season. The problem with this is that the broadcast agreement with ESPN requires that any change to the PO format has to be agreed to by December 1, 2025. The committee's final 2025 ranking and the consequent PO seeding happen on December 7, 2025.

Of course, the December 1st date could be extended, but if the PO is to expand, ESPN has to have time to sell advertising for a new 2026 additional game format.

There are undercurrents here, including the SEC understandably being paid more money by ESPN to play nine conference games, and quite possibly back-channel discussions with Tony Petitti? Sankey has noted that the 5-11 PO model is the SEC's preferred format, but nothing has been agreed to between the Power 2.

Go Dawgs! I cannot believe Texas is getting all of the SEC champ love and not the Georgia team that gutted out a title last season, defeating Texas twice in the process, and I hope that the Dawgs will have receivers in 2025 who hopefully have 'good hands' and not hands of Teflon.

16 minutes ago, Jon Joseph said:

Thanks, ND. The tables have turned, and it's great to see Bama, Texas, and Ole Miss having to visit Athens this season. Between UGA's road schedule and Oregon playing eight B1G opponents in a row without a break, the schedules seem easier, but aren't easy, especially for your Dawgs, than last season.

The CBB Committee's Quad System gives a team the same credit for a road win against a Quad 2 opponent as it does for a Quad 1 home win. So, home versus road wins are factored in. But bye weeks are not, as a week or two off in season is unique to football.

The CFB Committee uses SportsSource Analytics as its source for strength of schedule (SOS) and strength of record, supposedly at least. Boise State's SOS last season did not qualify for its No. 9 seed. At least I hope not, because if it did, send out an SOS on SportsSource. The CFB committee's use of any and every metric has been hidden from the public. Will this change in 2025?

Before moving to nine conference games, unless he received 'inside information' from the CFB committee concerning possible programming changes to the metric and how the committee intends to use it, Greg Sankey would accept verbal assurances from the same group that arguably disadvantaged 3-loss SEC teams last season.

I did note Commissioner Sankey's admonition to the committee that the SEC will be watching to see how the committee ranks and seeds this season. The problem with this is that the broadcast agreement with ESPN requires that any change to the PO format has to be agreed to by December 1, 2025. The committee's final 2025 ranking and the consequent PO seeding happen on December 7, 2025.

Of course, the December 1st date could be extended, but if the PO is to expand, ESPN has to have time to sell advertising for a new 2026 additional game format.

There are undercurrents here, including the SEC understandably being paid more money by ESPN to play nine conference games, and quite possibly back-channel discussions with Tony Petitti? Sankey has noted that the 5-11 PO model is the SEC's preferred format, but nothing has been agreed to between the Power 2.

Go Dawgs! I cannot believe Texas is getting all of the SEC champ love and not the Georgia team that gutted out a title last season, defeating Texas twice in the process, and I hope that the Dawgs will have receivers in 2025 who hopefully have 'good hands' and not hands of Teflon.

There's an easy answer to your last question Jon. Arch Manning is the prodigy, the consensus next big thing. Many feel like Texas would've been better with Manning starting last year. Georgia is heading into this year with Mike Bobo calling plays and Gunner Stockton taking the snaps. Most feel that Stockton is a major downgrade from Carson Beck.

So with Texas you have Sark and Manning to go along with a defense that gave that Ohio State juggernaut fits. In Georgia you have Kirby and that defense which will be great, but Stockton is seen as a ?.

I think that Georgia is still king until Texas proves they can take that crown. Georgia beat Texas twice last year, including an overtime affair where Stockton came in for Beck and composed the winning score.

Both will make the playoff anyway, it's just a matter of who gets the bye. It might be more beneficial to host a playoff game over getting that bye until the format changes anyway. I know that bye didn't do Georgia or Oregon any favors last year. Meanwhile Texas and Penn State got to the semis with pretty sweet draws imo.