Rece Davis 'not a fan' of SEC, Big Ten automatic berth proposal for College Football Playoff

The Big Ten and SEC held their second joint summit Wednesday in New Orleans to discuss the power conferences’ collective stance on the pending future of the College Football Playoff beginning in 2026.

And while there were no definitive decisions made, at least not publicly, on Wednesday, a recent Yahoo! Sports report revealed there is momentum building within both leagues to not only expand the Playoff to 14 or 16 teams, but also designate as many as four automatic qualifiers for the Big Ten and SEC. That proposal would also reportedly give the ACC and Big 12 two AQs each and the highest-ranked Group of Five championship would receive another with one or three at-large bids, according to Yahoo!’s Ross Dellenger.

“Leaders in each conference have spent the last several weeks evolving a format idea — multiple automatic qualifiers per league — into a more realistic proposal,” Dellenger wrote. “The 14- or 16-team model would grant four automatic qualifiers each to the SEC and Big Ten; two each to the ACC and Big 12; and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. It includes one or three at-large spots, one of those intended for Notre Dame if it finishes ranked inside the top 14 — a guarantee specifically designated for the Irish that is part of the CFP memorandum.”

It’s the automatic qualifier part that ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis is vehemently against.

Rece Davis: ‘I’m not a fan of the automatic berths for the SEC and the Big Ten’

“I’m not a fan of the automatic berths for the SEC and the Big Ten,” Davis said on Tuesday’s College GameDay Podcast with Pete Thamel. “Because there are going to be years, and the 12-team field this year is a good example, where if you were required to put a fourth SEC team in, there’s not a clear-cut answer there. … (But) if you are required to put a certain number of teams from a conference in, the upside of it is that they will likely play their way in in some fashion. Whether it’s the model some people have talked about – 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5 play and the winners get the automatic berth. People will like that, it will be compelling. But there will be years where 5 and 6 in that league really aren’t Playoff teams, but they pull an upset in a game and they get in at the expense of someone who perhaps was better.

“So, there are a lot of difficulties with it. Just generally speaking, I don’t think it’s great to have the automatic berths, but I do see there is some value in it,” Davis continued. “I can’t get there where I’m saying this is a good thing. I feel like it’s really not, because I think more times than not they’re going to get those berths anyway. But requiring them, depending on how you play it off, I do see how it could be compelling theatre. I just don’t feel good about doing it that way, and that might be the traditionalist in me.”

The future iteration of the College Football Playoff is expected to be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the CFP Management Committee on Feb. 25 in Dallas for a review of the inaugural 12-team field.

Conversations over future expansion to 14 or 16 teams have ramped up in recent months, with college football’s two power conferences eyeing automatic qualifiers. A specific number of auto bids has not been tabbed yet, but proposals that have been floated include each conference receiving three to four bids with the ACC and Big 12 receiving two. Multiple SEC and Big Ten coaches have told On3’s Pete Nakos in recent weeks that they support the leagues receiving automatic bids. Both commissioners told media members on Wednesday that discussions around automatic qualifiers will continue.

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.