US EditionJohn Clay: The SEC Is the Best Football Conference, but It Shouldn’t Rule All the Others
- The College Football Playoff plans to expand to a 16-team format in 2026 following its previous 12-team proposal, with the SEC playing a central role in the discussions.
- This expansion effort arises amid debate over the SEC’s claim that no conference endures a more challenging regular season, supported by a seven-page document distributed at spring meetings.
- While the SEC dominates in producing NFL draft players and asserts top-tier strength, it has not reached the championship game since Georgia’s consecutive titles in 2021 and 2022, and coaches prefer a 5+11 playoff model balancing automatic qualifiers and at-large bids.
- SEC commissioner Greg Sankey criticized portrayals of the SEC as the antagonist and emphasized a collaborative search for progress, while other conferences support the new format as best for college football, with no significant outcry over SEC dominance in other sports tournaments.
- The impending CFP format decision, due by December 1, carries implications for power balance in college football, as some warn that less inclusive models risk marginalizing smaller conferences despite efforts to unify all stakeholders.
37 Articles
37 Articles
John Clay: SEC is best football conference but shouldn’t rule all others
By John Clay Lexington Herald-Leader LEXINGTON, Ky. — There’s little doubt in my mind that from top to bottom the SEC is the best football conference in the nation. I’m just not sure incessantly making that claim is in the best interest of the league. I speak of the SEC’s recent spring meetings in Destin, which happened to dovetail with talk about changes to the College Football Playoff format. After a dalliance with a 12-team format, the CFP ap…
The Billings Gazette
John Clay: The SEC is the best football conference, but it shouldn’t rule all the others
LEXINGTON, Ky. — There’s little doubt in my mind that from top to bottom the SEC is the best football conference in the nation. I’m just not sure incessantly making that claim is in the best interest of the league.…
Big 12 commish: Big Ten, SEC share 'great responsibility' with CFP model
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormak doubled down on his support of the 5+11 model for the College Football Playoff on Friday, despite another proposed model that would guarantee his conference two playoff spots.
SEC Embarrassingly Hands Out Analytics Research To Support Superiority Arguments
The SEC has spent much of the past week desperately trying to convince the college football world that all other conferences should bow at their feet.Their months-long meltdown started at the end of the 2024 season, when Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina were left out of the College Football Playoff because none of them deserved to be included. For the first time in what felt like forever, SEC programs weren't treated as automatically superio…
Big 12 chief: Big Ten, SEC must serve football
The Big Ten and SEC have the bulk of control over the future of the College Football Playoff, and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark says that comes with a "great responsibility" to serve college football over their own wants.
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