Mario Cristobal emphatic that SEC, Big Ten automatic qualifier proposal makes 'zero sense'

It turns out not everyone is exactly on board with the Big Ten-SEC proposal for a newly expanded 16-team College Football Playoff. That is especially true when it comes to the unequal distribution of automatic qualifier bids.

A recent CBS Sports report stated that the CFP committee is “nearing consensus” on a change to the seeding process, thus eliminating first-round byes for conference champions. But the overall sentiment about the future of the Playoff remains as contentious as ever, according to Yahoo! Sports insider Ross Dellenger.

As each Power Four conference holds their annual Spring meetings this month, with the ACC kicking things off this week in Amelia Island, Fla., coaches and administrators from the ACC and Big 12 are voicing their concerns about the current “4-4-2-2-1” proposal for the CFP. That grants the Big Ten and SEC four AQ bids apiece while relegating their leagues to just two bids each.

“No one likes it,” an anonymous non-Big Ten and SEC athletic director told Dellenger. The quotes came on Wednesday afternoon.

Miami head football coach Mario Cristobal was among several ACC coaches to sound off on the Big Ten-SEC proposal. Cristobal called out the entire idea that Power Four conferences are effectively gifted multiple automatic bids to the Playoff.

“Granting spots, that makes zero sense,” Cristobal told Dellenger. “Football has never been about gifting. It’s about earning.”

Longtime NC State head football coach Dave Doeren also chimed in on the matter. Doeren confirmed ACC coaches and administrators are specifically “fighting” for more than two automatic bids.

“We are fighting for our spots,” Doeren told Dellenger. “We believe we deserve three (automatic qualifiers) as a minimum.”

This comes after Yahoo! Sports reported last week that there was “growing” support for the Big Ten-SEC proposal that would grow the Playoff from 12 to 16 teams beginning in 2026. And while there doesn’t appear to be much concern about a 16-team field, it’s how the bids are distributed that has those from outside the Big Ten and SEC up in arms.

“I think you should earn your way in,” Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi told Dellenger. “It comes down to the image of the Big Ten and SEC and where they are and there’s a lack of respect for the ACC. I don’t like it.”

While doing his best not to outwardly reject the proposal, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips couched his words. Phillips expressed “steadfast” support for “fairness.”

“I remain steadfast about fairness in the system and access,” Phillips told Dellenger on Wednesday. “Out of respect for my colleagues, I want to hold off on commenting about AQs and specific models.”

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua each declined comment to Yahoo! Sports about the “4-4-2-2-1” proposal. This would also grant the highest-ranked Group of Six program an automatic bid, with three at-large bids also available.

Dellenger also reported ACC ADs discussed several alternate Playoff formats this week at their Spring meetings, many of which granted the ACC a third AQ bid. But, of course, any potential “4-4-3-3-1” or “4-4-3-2-1” model would reduce the number of at-large bids available. The ACC and Big 12 are expected to propose alternate formats, but it’s clear the Big Ten and SEC hold a lot of weight in all Playoff format discussions, especially in light of their close-knit relationship with ESPN, which holds the CFP television rights through 2031.