The amount of conference games a college football team plays each year depends on what conference the team is in. In the Big Ten and Big 12, every team has nine conference games. In the ACC and SEC, teams only play eight. Obviously, that gives teams in the ACC and SEC a bit of an advantage. Penn State football head coach James Franklin thinks that it is time for that to change, and he believes that change would help the College Football Playoff as well.
When programs across the country are all competing for the same 12 spots in the College Football Playoff, it makes sense for them to all be playing the same amount of conference games. James Franklin wants to see that happen, and as a result, the College Football Playoff selection process would be a lot better as well.
“When the Big Ten 1st went to nine (conference) games, you could make the argument maybe it was the worst decision the Big Ten ever made,” Franklin said at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday, according to a post from Brett McMurphy. “Mathematically you’re going to have more losses. There’s an easy solution to (playoff format): everybody plays the same number of (conference) games & a conference championship. And everything will take care of itself. Everybody should be playing the same number of conference games. Either eight or nine , it isn’t that hard.”
There have been consistent talks about a new College Football Playoff format, and the amount of conference games has been a big part of the discussion. The Big Ten and the SEC are the two conferences that are trying to reach an agreement on the format, but the Big Ten wants to see the SEC add another conference game before they reach something together.
The current 12-team CFP format has only been around for one season, but it is going to be changing soon. The format is pretty much the same for the 2025 season as it was last year, except for some minor changes. When James Franklin and many others in the college football world get what they want in terms of the same amount of conference games, then the format will change again.
