Greg Sankey calls out College Football Playoff issue, advocates for 'tough to achieve' change

The first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff is in the books, and suggestions on how to improve the model moving forward have been discussed at length by fans, coaches, and commissioners alike, including the SEC’s Greg Sankey.

Joining the Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday, Sankey believes some adjustments should be made to the format in the future. To Sankey, the NCAA now has an understanding of what the 12-team playoff model looks like in a reorganized set of conferences. He specifically pointed to one issue that he hopes to help resolve shortly.

“The seeding issues, particularly moving teams into the Top 4, need to be looked at deeply. Now, any decisions for the coming year require unanimous agreement among the participants, so the 10 conferences, and then Notre Dame as an independent. That’s really tough to achieve.

“We saw that in just trying to expand. We need to have those conversations. I think we need to look at what happened round to round and how we make some of the experiences consistent as you move from round to round.”

To be given a Top 4 seed in the current CFP format, they must be one of the four highest-ranked conference champions. This means that the four highest-ranked teams aren’t necessarily given a first-round bye.

For example, Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 and undefeated, the best they could be is a 5-seed hosting a home playoff game while potential lower-ranked teams are given the benefit of an extra week of rest and awarded a shorter route to the national championship game because they won their respective conference title.

However, this season showcased that the first-round bye wasn’t necessarily an advantage for those four conference champions. After all four of the teams who hosted first-round playoff games advanced to the quarterfinals — all four of those conference champions went on to lose their games.

Including ACC champion Clemson as the 12-seed, none of the five conference champions that made the field won a single game. That included Arizona State (Big 12), Oregon (Big Ten), Boise State (Mountain West), and Georgia (SEC).

Eliminating automatic byes for conference champions and seeding the playoffs based on rankings is one suggestion that has gained traction online, but it remains to be seen if anything is ultimately changed. As Sankey noted, acquiring a unanimous vote across the board, especially with smaller conferences wanting a seat at the table, appears easier said than done.