There Are Pros and Cons for the Big 12 in Both Proposed CFP Formats

The future of the College Football Playoff has been the headline of the sport over the last few weeks. The Big Ten and the SEC proposed a new format for the CFP that would grant both of those leagues four automatic bids each per year. There has been pushback from every other conference in the country.

In response, the ACC and the Big 12 proposed a different format that wouldn't guarantee as much power to the Big Ten and the SEC. Here is a breakdown of those formats and the pros and cons of each from a Big 12 perspective.

4+4+2+2+1

This is the proposal from the Big Ten and the SEC. In this 16-team proposal, the SEC and the Big Ten would get four automatic bids each. Here are the proposed automatic bids by conference:

SEC: 4
Big Ten: 4
Big 12: 2
ACC: 2
G6: 1
At-Large: 3

Pros

In this proposal, the Big 12 would be guaranteed at least two spots in the CFP every year. That's one more bid than the Big 12 earned in the inaugural season of the 12-team playoff, and it would give BYU a 1 in 8 chance to reach the CFP every year.

The biggest pro, in the opinion of this author, is this format would nearly strip the CFP selection committee of its power to select the CFP field. The selection committee did not view the Big 12 in a favorable way last year and it severely damaged the conference's opportunities to earn multiple playoff bids.

Cons

The cons of this proposal are obvious. The Big 12 and the ACC would be publicly viewed as half of the Big Ten and the SEC. Those two conferences already have numerous built-in advantages, but this would be the biggest advantage in the history of the sport. It would create a further divide among the P4 leagues.

Additionally, this would open a path for an 8-4 SEC or Big Ten team to make the field. This format would severely devalue the regular season, especially in the Big Ten and the SEC. It would also make the non-conference slate completely meaningless.

5+11

This was the proposal from the Big 12 and the ACC. In this proposal, the five highest-ranked conference champions would earn automatic bids into the 16-team field. The 11 remaining spots would be given to the next highest-ranked teams according to the CFP rankings.

Pros

This format would give access to college football programs regardless of conference affiliation. It would make both non-conference and conference games important throughout the season. As Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has pointed out, this format would force teams to earn spots based on their on-field performance.

This format is the most popular among fans because it is the fairest. If the Big Ten doesn't have four playoff-caliber teams each year, they won't automatically get four teams in the field.

Cons

This format allows the College Football Playoff committee to almost completely control postseason access and status. That’s not a good thing for Big 12 fans. The CFP committee did the Big 12 no favors in the first season of newly aligned conferences.

The other obvious con to the format is the Big 12 could only get one team in the field. Last year, BYU would have missed the cut behind multiple 3-loss SEC teams.