Pete Thamel: ACC, Big 12 have ‘significantly less say’ in College Football Playoff expansion

ESPN’s Pete Thamel broke down the Power Four structure when it came to the College Football Playoff and the ACC and Big 12 might just be happy to be there. College football, after all, has been dominated by the Big Ten and SEC in these types of conversations as of late.

At least when it comes ot the money and the size of the league, the Big Ten and SEC are the total package. That’s not to say the ACC and Big 12 aren’t trying to keep up, but it’s a tall ladder to climb.

With the news that the CFP could expand to 16 teams and the ACC and Big 12 won’t have the same automatic qualifiers as their fellow Power Four members, Thamel broke down what’s next. Perhaps it’s just surviving to stay near the top.

“Yes, they are happy to be at the table, happy to have their three squares, and whatever money, which is significantly decreasing, is being funneled their way,” Thamel said on McElroy and Cubelic. “And as we enter the next iteration here, year 13, as I like to call it, in playoff parlance, that you know, the ACC and the Big 12 have significantly less say in what’s going to end up happening. They still have a voice and more of a seat, don’t get me wrong. They’re not completely, completely shut out. 

“And, you know, Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti have been inclusive of the opinions about (Brett) Yormark and Jim Phillips. But I really do think, like the way the rules are now weighted, the two leagues are, you know, can kind of charge their own court.”

ACC, Big 12 on par with Big Ten, SEC?

Thamel was asked if the ACC and Big 12 are more on par with the other Power Four conferences or closer to Group of Five schools. At least in terms of the potential power they wield.

“I would think they’re more with the SEC and Big Ten,” Thamel said. “I think it was telling that the meeting that you referenced the report from Thursday night. Last Thursday night was the four commissioners in-person in New York City … They’re going to make the determination on how and where this thing goes. And the notion of 16, I think, guys, is like a little bit of a compromise, right? They, you know, if there are automatic qualifiers, which seemingly there are, there’s there’s a path there … But you know, going forward, there is still a voice for them, and they are listened to. But just it’s hard to look at the future and envision them having more of a say, unless, of course, like the ACC gets really hot again, and maybe, maybe rev share continues to embolden Miami, which has played a lot better the last few years under Mario Cristobal. 

“Florida State’s obviously been a little bit schizophrenic … Clemson’s obviously been generally either excellent or very good the past decade. Plus, you know, you gain more of a voice by winning more. It’s pretty simple calculus. And even though the other schools have more money and they’ll have likely more access to NIL in the Big Ten and the SEC, I think in theory, you know, if you’re sitting in the ACC and you got 15 million in rev share, you should have pretty good state. You should be able to feel pretty good about recruiting and retaining and doing all those kinds of things.”