Big Ten’s 28-Team Playoff Cash Grab Would Wreck College Football As We Know It

The gluttony of the Big Ten is on full display in even floating its misbegotten idea to expand the College Football Playoffs from 12 teams to as many as 28.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported the idea, citing sources who said Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti ran the idea by his conference on Wednesday. As these things tend to do, it quickly started making rounds.

My first thought is that it’s way too much of a good thing. It might just be an idea at this point, but I'll bet throughout the Big Ten and SEC school presidents and athletic directors are going, "hmmmmm....not bad."

There might even be some USF fans out there thinking, Hey, this is our chance. The truth is, it wouldn't improve USF's chances one bit over what they are now as long as the Bulls are in the American Conference.

The 28-team model would guarantee the Big Ten and SEC seven teams each. The ACC and Big 12 get five teams.

The Group of 5, where USF resides for the moment, would get two bids. Two more at-large bids would round out the field. You can bet those would go to the Big Ten and SEC. And if the Bulls were to get in under this scenario, they would be a low seed with a plane ticket to One-and-Doneville.

It would be a cash grab for a pair of conferences that must be running out of places already to stash all their dough.

If adopted, it could spell the end of conference championship games – theoretically, to lessen the wear and tear on the athletes.

It should be noted that the FCS has a 24-team playoff already, with the top eight teams receiving first-round byes.

Let’s think about this for a moment.

I checked the standings from the 2024 power conferences.

The lowest win total I foundThe was a pair of eight-win teams in the Big Ten (Iowa, Michigan). And for what it’s worth, Ohio State finished fourth in that conference before stampeding through four playoff opponents to win the natty.

The problem of choosing SEC teams last year would have been complicated by the fact that once you got past the top three teams in the standings – Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee – the next six teams had 5-3 conference records.

Each of those teams won no fewer than nine games overall.
If faced with his situation again, would the SEC lobby for those two extra at-large bids?

You betcha!

The other potential problem comes with seeding. Let’s say the starting quarterback on a team seeded somewhere in the 20s sizes up the bracket and figures his team hasn’t got a chance.

Rather than risk and injury that could negatively impact his NFL potential, the quarterback opts out. Think of the message that would send to his teammates and NIL supporters.
Don’t even think that wouldn’t happen, either.

This all is just an idea right now, but I give it two years before we see the playoff field at least double in size.

You know why, right?

Cha-ching!