The College Football Playoff has been widely discussed and the addition of play-in games have been on the table for some time. There are conversations about automatic bids being a 5+11 model by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, while the Big Ten want a 4+4+2+2+1+1 model where the Big Ten and SEC get four automatic bids while the ACC and Big 12 get two.
However, the play-in game situation would be able to happen if there are multiple automatic bids in the conference. Let’s take a look at how the Big Ten wants this to play out.
Big Ten Commissioner Wants Play-in Games for CFP
Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti talked at the 2025 Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday about how he believes in having play-in games happen to qualify for the College Football Playoff. This idea would add games during championship weekend and allow teams to qualify for the CFP.
“Look, we feel pretty strongly that fans will really gravitate toward a play-in weekend. That providing games that are do-or-die on the field will drive fan interest,” Petitti said Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas. “[…] I just believe that in talking to our league, the weekend that we’re talking about, where you’ll have championship games and across all conferences meaningful play-in games, I don’t see how that’s a bad thing for college football. And I think fans will gravitate to it.”
He was also asked a follow-up question as to why Big Ten’s top teams should be forced to play in an additional game in order to make the College Football Playoff.
“First, I have to commend our coaches, because they obviously talk about the same thing you just raised: ‘Hey, if I’m in position, I could get hurt by losing a (play-in) game.’ I think where our coaches came down, and our ADs, was that at the end of the day, there are 18 members in the Big Ten. You have 17 available opponents and you play nine of them. … But at the end of the day, I think our coaches are willing to take that risk because what they’re thinking about is not a snapshot of any one season; they’re looking at how they get more teams in contention. I think it’s in every league’s interest, not just ours, to have more teams emerging… Giving more teams a chance to compete.”
Pettiti would continue to discuss how the College Football Playoff has conditioned people that if you lose multiple games, you’re not in contention. He would also discuss how there are play-in games for other sports and wants the decision of teams advancing to be made on the field instead of by the committee discussing resumes.
This would certainly be a change to college football, but there has been a lot of innovation in the last decade. It would be interesting to see if play-in games would be added in the not-so-distant future and if other conferences would also adapt it.
