Non-SEC and Big 10 members could face big losses with these new proposals.
The biggest story outside of the House Settlement of the 2025 CFB offseason so far has been the ongoing talks over the state of the College Football Playoff….but what do the proposals mean for the Syracuse Orange?
SEC and Big 10 officials are not happy with the state of the playoffs, but recently, their proposals have been pushed in different directions. In one corner, the 5+11 option. This proposal is similar to the one that was used last year in that it gives the five highest-ranked conference champions an automatic bid to the CFP. However, it adds more teams to the mix, bringing the total amount up to 16, giving 11 at-large bids. This option has garnered the support of the commissioners of the SEC, Big 12, most of the Group of 5, and, most importantly for Syracuse, the ACC.
In the other corner, we have the 4-4-2-2-1 option, which is almost solely supported by the Big 10 at this point. In this option, less emphasis would be put on the CFP committee, and instead, the playoff would consist of 4 schools from both the SEC and Big 10, two schools from the ACC and the Big 12, one Group of 5 school, and three at-large bids.
One important thing to note is that, while most of the conferences are pretty unified on this issue, the SEC has been flipping their opinion quite a bit. Many of the athletic directors, due to concerns about the strength of schedule and strength of conference, support the Big 10’s idea. However, both conferences have still been arguing all summer about a potential universal move to the Big 10’s nine conference matchups, compared to the SEC’s eight.
Jeff Romance/Special to The Palm Beach Post / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
When looking at the Syracuse Orange’s role in these two proposals, it is easy to see the benefits of both. With the 5+11 model, the playoff would have more at-large bids, which means that if a conference like the SEC or Big 10 has a down year, the Orange would have a better shot at snatching one of those spots for themselves. Further, this model would likely come with a greater emphasis on strength of schedule, and with Syracuse playing the 14th toughest schedule in the country this season, it could help them if they find themselves in consideration for a spot.
It is also important to consider the downsides of this proposal, mainly due to the lack of automatic bids. If the ACC has a bad season, Syracuse will likely suffer a lot more than in the other models, as with only one automatic bid, the College Football Playoff committee will likely favor SEC and Big 10 teams over ACC schools with similar records. Further, while this season is an exception, usually Syracuse does not play a very difficult schedule. In a season like last year’s, that would have given them a lot less consideration by the committee under this plan, especially compared to teams like Alabama and South Carolina.
Under the 4-4-2-2-1 plan, the Orange are offered a little less flexibility, but one more guaranteed spot for the ACC. With two ACC schools getting automatic invites, this would give Syracuse a bit more wiggle room in the season, as they do not have to be the best team in the conference to get an automatic bid. This leads to Syracuse teams like last year’s having a little more hope to make the playoffs. Further, having four SEC and Big 10 teams getting automatic bids means that those schools are taken out of the at-large pool, and as we have seen this past season, those conferences get a lot of the attention for CFP spots. Fewer of those schools in the running means that even if Syracuse doesn’t get an automatic bid, they will be under less competition for the three at-large spots.
However, there are still many issues with this plan that the Orange must consider. For example, if the SEC or B10 has a down year, then they would still be guaranteed four bids to the playoff. This means that if there are plenty of high-flying Big 12, ACC, or Group of 5 schools that season, there would be only three at-large spots for all of those, while four spots would go to a conference that is not guaranteed to have four worthy participants. Further, this would hurt teams that play stronger strength of schedules outside of the SEC and Big 10, such as Syracuse this season, as the judgment of the College Football Playoff committee would be a lot less of a factor in the decision-making process.
Another important factor in the decision-making that will have an important impact on Syracuse Football in the future is the number of conference games that they play. Outside of the CFP proposals, one of the biggest points of contention in these meetings has been the number of conference games the ACC and SEC play. While the Big 10 and Big 12 both play nine games, the ACC and SEC only play eight. Even if schools agree to change the format, the Big 10 could stop it from passing over this issue.
As Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports reported, Illinois head coach Brett Bielema mentioned that, “I don’t think there’s any way we could do a 16-team playoff if [the SEC] is not at nine [conference] games.” This would force Syracuse into a change in scheduling, and could affect future non-conference matchups, especially with the ACC’s scheduling deal with Notre Dame taking up a non-conference spot.
Of course, the goal for the SEC and Big 10 here is to make as much money as possible. They are going to do everything in their power to fight for the CFP proposal that will keep them at the top of the College Football landscape for years and years to come. Unfortunately, it’s the reality that ACC schools like Syracuse just don’t have as much of a seat at the table as these schools do. All we really can do is wait and see what happens over the next few months, and look towards the end of this summer, when the schedules will be finalized, and December 1st, which is when a new College Football Playoff format will need to be decided for the 2026 playoff.