- The SEC is adding a ninth game to its conference schedule for the 2026 football season.
- A major reason is that the CFP playoffs will lean more heavily on the strength of schedule.
- Combined with the Big Ten’s idea of an expanded CFP playoff, the college football landscape continues to change drastically.
The SEC will move to a nine-game conference schedule for the 2026 season. This is due to the CFP playoffs putting more weight on strength of schedule.
The Big Ten is also trying to push a 24-or-28 team playoff, meaning college football could change even more drastically in the coming years.
SEC Trying to Strengthen Stranglehold on CFP Playoff, Big Ten Aiming for Massive Change as Well
The SEC made their announcement in a news release on Thursday, August 21.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said:
“Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities’ commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation. This format protects rivalries, increases competitive balance, and, paired with our requirement to play an additional Power opponent, ensures SEC teams are well prepared to compete and succeed in the College Football Playoff.”
There is also the thought that this decision was made as the CFP playoff will factor in the strength of schedule more. This would allow the possibility of more SEC teams in the playoffs, where they’ve already dominated. In last season’s 12-team playoff, the SEC had three teams in. In 2023, when there were just four teams, the SEC had two teams.
The SEC is already the class of college football. In the CFP Championship odds for the 2025-26 season, there are five teams in the top 10, with Texas at the top. But the Big Ten is gaining on them with three teams, and they’re trying to push their own agenda.
The Big Ten is proposing an expansion for the CFP Playoff to 24 or 28 teams.
Will the CFP Playoff Eventually Just Be SEC vs. Big Ten?
The proposal from the Big Ten (which now has 18 teams after expansion) would give themselves, as well as the SEC, five automatic playoff spots. Five each would go to the ACC and the Big 12, which are losing teams to both conferences, along with the Pac-12, which is down to just two teams for 2025 in Oregon State and Washington State. However, the Pac-12 will be getting more teams in 2026.
Overall, it looks like the SEC and Big Ten are running college football. It seems there will be just two conferences in the near future, and money is the main motivator. These two conferences drive the most revenue for the NCAA, who are happy to let them do whatever they want.
The SEC and Big Ten have combined to win the last six national championships, with the last champion from outside those conferences being the ACC’s Clemson Tigers, who won in 2019. In the CFP era that started in 2014, Clemson’s wins in 2017 and 2019 are the only non-SEC or Big Ten wins.
That’s probably going to continue in the future, so remember that as you’re considering your picks at college football betting sites!
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