6 days ago
Ohio State coach Ryan Day supports a College Football Playoff with 'at least' 4 bids guaranteed for Big Ten
As different formats continue to be discussed for future iterations of the College Football Playoff, put Ryan Day in the camp of those who want multiple automatic qualifiers for conferences.
In an interview with ESPN, Day advocated for the Big Ten to get at least four automatic bids. One of the possible formats for the CFP going forward would be a 16-team edition with four guaranteed bids each for the SEC and Big Ten.
"We're in the Big Ten, and we have 18 teams and some of the best programs in the country," Day told ESPN. "I feel like we deserve at least four automatic qualifiers."
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Day's sentiments are in contrast with coaches across the SEC who spoke about potential playoff formats at the league's spring meetings. If the playoff expands to 16 teams in the near future — something that feels like a near-certainty at this point — two formats have gotten the most attention.
The one Day supports would include the eight guaranteed berths for the Big Ten and SEC along with just two berths each for the ACC and SEC and three wild cards.
The second would include guaranteed spots for all four conference champions and the highest-ranked conference champion from the other five conferences. From there, the 11 other spots would be filled out among the highest-ranked teams in the final College Football Playoff rankings that didn't win conference championships.
Even SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said that a format with four guaranteed bids for his league and just three available wild cards could cost his league postseason berths.
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Day cited non-conference scheduling as a reason for guaranteed bids. He believes teams would weaken their non-conference schedules under another format.
"If you don't have those automatic qualifiers, you're less likely to play a game like we're playing this year against Texas, because it just won't make sense," Day said. "If we do, then you're more likely to do that, because we play nine conference games in the Big Ten. The SEC doesn't. So it's not equal."
The Big Ten had four teams in the first 12-team playoff at the end of the 2024 season. The Buckeyes were the No. 8 seed in the playoff after finishing at No. 6 in the final rankings. Oregon, Penn State and Indiana joined Ohio State in the field and the Buckeyes had to beat the Ducks in the Rose Bowl on their way to a national title.
The Big Ten also got the most teams of any conference into the playoff. Three SEC teams made the field; No. 11 Alabama was the first team out. That 'snub' of the 9-3 Crimson Tide continues to be a talking point for the SEC as the conference mulls whether or not to expand to nine conference games.
Guaranteeing at least four bids for the Big Ten and SEC would put the conferences at a distinct advantage over everyone else and provide a safety net of sorts if either league had a down year. But given the sheer size and strength of both conferences, there are likely to be at least four teams from each in a 16-team playoff. The SEC would've had six teams in the field a season ago in a 16-team format that included 11 at-large berths.
