Hugh Freeze calls for change to College Football Playoff ahead of 9-game SEC schedule

When the SEC announced its decision to go to a nine-game conference schedule, Hugh Freeze joked about the strength of the league. The former Auburn head coach asked if the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs were “available” to fill the extra spot.

But Freeze also pointed out the impact the expanded SEC schedule will have on the league. That’s why he called for change to the College Football Playoff considering half the conference will have another loss, not to mention an extra road game every other year.

Freeze spoke exclusively with AuburnSports’ Justin Hokanson about his time on The Plains, but he also noted the grind of the SEC. Particularly in the NIL era as more talent spreads out, he said it’s even harder to win the conference. Add in another league game, and Freeze thinks the CFP needs an adjustment, too.

“I think you’ve got to play great defense in order to win games in this conference,” Freeze said. “I don’t know if people really know how hard it is to win in this conference now. With everybody having money to go buy quarterbacks and some d-linemen, it is a brutal, brutal way to win on Saturdays. It’s hard. And it’s going to get harder with nine games. Every other year, you’re going to have five on the road.

“That’s why I keep beating the drum, the Playoff deal has to change. Everybody wants to be NFL, NFL. Well, the NFL has 50% of their teams that make the playoffs. You’re going to have some SEC teams that are 8-4 that are really, really good. But they have five road games and you play another Notre Dame or somebody out of conference. All of a sudden, you’re 8-4, but you probably deserve a seat.”

The 2026 season will mark the first with the nine-game SEC schedule in place. Teams will have three annual opponents and six rotating opponents. Annual opponents will be evaluated every four years, and every team will face the remaining 12 teams once in a two-year span.

The timing of the change comes as the College Football Committee debuted a new metric used in the ranking process, intended to emphasize record strength. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was steadfast that a change to the league schedule would depend on the CFP. The SEC’s announcement came shortly after the selection committee announced the new metric.