Following last week's SEC Spring Meetings, ESPN senior writer Adam Rittenberg joined us on Thursday's edition of TexAgs Live to discuss the 5+11 CFP structure, the Big Ten's position on this structure and the need for uniform scheduling across conferences in college football.
Key notes from Adam Rittenberg interview
- The Big Ten had this 4-4-2-2-1 idea for the College Football Playoff percolating for a little while. Ryan Day, I spoke with him yesterday, is just vocalizing that. Generally, it has been the Big Ten’s position. Maybe it was a little more of the SEC's position. Obviously, they got more around the 5+11 model, which the ACC and the Big 12 favor.
- I think Day’s point is that not all leagues are created equal, as well as schedules. As the Big Ten conference has 18 members and has won the last two national championships, they feel like they’re entitled to more than one guaranteed spot for their champion. How it plays out will be interesting. I think Day’s take resonates throughout the Big Ten right now. Does that lead to some type of standoff with the other conferences or a slowdown in the process? All these things are on the table.
- The SEC put out those lists at the end of the Spring Meetings in Destin. I think it would be hard to get widespread support for that type of thing. There would be claims, justified or not, of this system or that system being biased towards a specific league.
- I know not everyone in the SEC likes uniform scheduling in football. You have to play nine conference games. You have to schedule a 10th Power Five opponent. If you have that on the table, I think there would be more willingness from the Big Ten side to go to a 5+11 model. It’s not a guarantee that we'll go to 16 teams right away. That was a message that I got. I didn’t report that until now, that the play from the Big Ten side is to slow things down. We have 12 teams and a model from 2025, we can run that back for 2026. We could certainly go to 16 teams, but we are in no rush to get to the finish line because of these issues we are working through.
- One thing bothering people in the Big Ten is that the schedule models are not equal. The SEC can say our data shows our eight conference games are stronger than your nine conference games. It’s just a hard argument to buy, especially with the Big Ten having the last two national championships and the No. 1 spot last year. It’s a lot easier to say, “Hey, we are all playing the same number of conference games. We are all feeding into the same playoff system. Let the best 12 or 16 teams get there.”
- I love any idea that gives college football fans a more robust schedule. I'm against anything that would decrease the likelihood of Ohio State vs. Texas opening, or Clemson vs. LSU or Alabama vs. Florida State. These are the brands we all grew up watching and being connected to the sport. Why not see them play more often? If you have to move an FCS game to the spring to generate revenue for those programs, that’s great. I don’t think those games serve the fans. I think it's a wasted Saturday. Why are we wasting weekends and catering so much of the schedule to teams that are trying to be bowl-eligible? You do what’s best to serve the fans of the best teams. That’s what I’m about.
- My whole thing with an expanded playoff was, would we ever have a situation where a team that was capable of winning a national championship wasn’t part of the field? I don’t think with the four-team playoff, there was a team that was left out that could’ve won the whole thing. With a 12-team playoff, unless the selection committee really screws up the teams that are capable of winning are in the field each year, most of those teams are from the SEC and Big Ten. If Ole Miss were talented enough, they wouldn’t have lost to LSU and Florida. I think with 12-plus, we will always have the right teams to win a national championship.
- My concern was that it did feel a little familiar at the end. You want a break from that in performance and how you construct your roster. Starting with the offensive line, I think they could be one of the best in football. That backfield could be one of the better ones in the SEC. I'm a believer in Collin Klein. I think nationally, there will be justified doubt until they put together a complete season and don’t have that same old A&M feel that we had at the end of the year, losing to Texas, South Carolina and TCU in the bowl game. I do think things are moving more quietly in the right direction.
- Mike Elko isn’t looking for the best accolades. He is slowly building out a roster that will serve Texas A&M better. I do think this year they can take a step forward.
- Le'Veon Moss was a guy who jumped out at me before his injury. He’s responded really well. It’s a big injury for a running back. His recovery has been encouraging. The fact that he doesn’t have to carry the ball 37 times like Ashton Jeanty. Klein is a guy who likes to have multiple ball carriers, so you aren’t overly reliant on one running back. He’s someone who can make some noise. I think this offense is poised to be a top-half SEC offense.
- I think going into this year, from an overall talent standpoint, I'd put Georgia and Texas at the top. Did LSU do enough in the offseason with a returning quarterback of a 4,000-yard passer to belong in that group? I was on the field before the LSU vs. Ole Miss game. Ole Miss was much more talented than LSU, but they found a way to come back and win in OT.
- LSU needs to be a more talented team to make the playoffs. You can’t not talk about Alabama. I'm a big Kalen DeBoer guy. I’ve watched for many years. There are a lot of teams such as South Carolina, Texas A&M and Florida. Florida has a lot of talent, but questions with DJ Lagway... If you’re in the second group, you’re in the playoff hunt. If you’re in the third group, you’re probably not in the playoff hunt, but you’re not far away. Like Mississippi State, which has work to do.
- The thing that’s exciting, if you're an SEC fan or A&M fan, is that you don’t have these behemoths anymore. I think Georgia is vulnerable. Texas, we don’t know how Arch Manning is going to be. Gunner Stockton was thrown into a difficult situation. They will run with him at the beginning of the season. Are they going to have better WR play bringing in Zachariah Branch, or are we going to see the same problems that plagued them last season? It’s going to be tough for them to defend their title. Also, Alabama isn’t Nick Saban’s Alabama. There are pathways to move up in the SEC, but you just don’t know who can do it.
