Paul Finebaum and Joel Klatt Get Brutally Honest About The ACC and the Future CFP Playoff Format

There is not a bigger topic right now in college football than the future of the playoff format. There is a lot of debate over what kind of format is going to work for each conference, with the Big Ten and the SEC holding the advantage over the ACC and the Big 12. A lot of talk is going on about if the 5+11 (five conference champions, 11 at large bids) is going to be the format going forward, but college football analyst Paul Finebaum got brutally honest about both conferences and the format that would be best for them:

"I would get along and try to make sure you get exactly what you laid out (in the CFP),” said Finebaum. “They don’t have a lot of leverage. I don’t mean to sound like the president trying to make a deal but that’s exactly what we’re doing here. We’re making a deal and, quite frankly, they’re getting more than they probably deserve.”

“Quite frankly, if they get a couple of (automatic qualifiers), that’s probably more than they deserve,” Finebaum said. “I know I’m lighting the torch that we had going on last December but, I mean, it was a frustrating couple of days talking to every commissioner and football coaches at the best league in this country and, at a high point, try to act like we have to make sure that SMU gets an equal opportunity. Well, that’s not what this is all about anymore.”

Finebaum is not the only one expressing that sentiment. Fox analyst Joel Klatt voiced similar concerns on his show today

“If they wanted to argue for anything, if they wanted to earn it on the field, they should be arguing for the two model and maybe even a 2.5 model,” said Klatt. “Now, what would that look like? Now, that would be wild, Joel. Let me just kind of discuss a 2.5-model for the Big 12 and the ACC. If you wanted to earn it on the field, if you want to take it out of the boardroom and you want the sixteen-team playoff, then let’s go 4-4-2.5-2.5 for the ACC and the Big 12…and then one for the Group of Five and then two at-large spots for Notre Dame and a second at-large team.”

“How do you do 2.5? That sounds crazy. Well, you actually do it quite easily by pitting, let’s just say the fourth of fifth-place team in each of the ACC and the Big 12 against east other. Maybe your play-in weekend is just against each other and you’re going to have five spots total, and three of them are going to go to the ACC and two of them to the Big 12. Or, on any given year depending on how those matchups go, on the field, you would get three or two. So, you would have 2.5 spots,” Klatt continued. “So, basically you’re saying, hey, between the ACC and the Big 12, we’re going to split five at-large spots so that’s how you get to 2.5. In that case, you would be guaranteeing yourself, at a minimum, two spots every year and the potential for a third. Versus arguing for a model that you would only, in most years, get one?”

A new playoff format needs to be agreed upon for next season and it seems like nobody is making headway in trying to figure which one works best. Will the SEC and Big Ten get four automatic bids? Will it be a 5+11 format?

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