College Football Playoff: Mississippi State president pessimistic on 16-team format

College Football Playoff (CFP) decision-makers face a December 1 deadline to agree on expanding the postseason for 2026, with current discussions potentially stalling. Mississippi State president Mark Keenum expressed skepticism about reaching an agreement on restructuring the playoff bracket.

A key issue in the negotiations is the lack of consensus on automatic bids in an expanded field. The Big Ten supports multiple guaranteed spots, primarily benefiting Big Ten and SEC teams, while the SEC favors eliminating automatic bids altogether, preferring at-large selections based on team performance.

The Big Ten proposes a 16-team playoff with four automatic qualifiers for the two most powerful conferences, while the SEC is open to formats like 5+7, 5+9, or 5+11, which limit automatic bids to one per conference. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey prefers removing automatic bids entirely.

Keenum stated that a decision must be made by the end of November to expand to a 16-team format for next year, though he