The Big 12 and the ACC Have Reportedly Teamed Up to Endorse a New CFP Format

The Big 12 and the ACC have reportedly endorsed a College Football Playoff format, according to a report from CBS Sports. The endorsed format would include just five automatic qualifiers in a 16-team field. Four automatic bids would go to the four conference champions of the Power Four leagues, and one automatic bid would go to the highest-ranked G6 champion. The rest of the field would be comprised of the highest-ranked teams in the College Football Playoff rankings, regardless of conference affiliation.

The proposal from the Big 12 and the ACC came in response to a proposed format from the SEC and the Big Ten.

The conference commissioners appear to be aligned on the number of teams: 16. It's the automatic berths, however, that are causing a lot of controversy. In the proposed plan created by the SEC and the Big Ten, those two conferences would get four automatic bids each in the College Football Playoff every year.

After the Big Ten and the SEC, the Big 12 and the ACC would get two automatic bids each. Lastly, the highest-ranked Group of Six champion would receive an automatic bid as well, leaving three remaining spots for at-large bids.

According to Ross Dellenger, "Leaders at the Big 12 and ACC want more than just two automatic spots." In the counter-proposal, the ACC and the Big 12 would get three automatic bids each, leaving just one at-large spot for a team like Notre Dame.

The newly proposed format would eliminate most of the automatic bids and, instead, would use the College Football Playoff rankings to determine the College Football Playoff field.

The Power Four commissioners plan to meet again soon. The future of the College Football Playoff will be decided over the next few months.