"He's fighting for our conference" - AJ McCarron sides with Greg Sankey as SEC commish bats against automatic bids for CFP

The debate over the automatic spots in the College Football Playoff has been growing over the last few weeks. There are numerous potential formats on the board, one of which will favor the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference, the two "Powerhouse" conferences in college football.

This is an idea SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is against. On Wednesday, former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron shared his thoughts on what Sankey is doing about this debate on "The Dynasty."

"I think Greg Sankey is going a good job in fighting for our conference. Why would you limit yourself to four automatic bids?" McCarron said (3:01).

The proposals that Sankey is against will give the SEC an advantage over other conferences.

In what is being termed the "4-4-2-2-1 model," four automatic spots will be given to the SEC and Big Ten each. Two spots will go to teams from the ACC and Big 12, with Notre Dame being the "1," if it's eligible.

The Big Ten appears to be in favor of using the model for a 16-team College Football Playoff, as it would cement its status as one of the two strongest conferences. It will also almost guarantee that the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes have a place in the postseason.

For the SEC, while it may be more open for who will make the top four, expect constant appearances from the likes of Georgia, Alabama and Texas.

What is Greg Sankey's proposal for the CFP?

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is against this format and any automatic qualifiers in the College Football Playoff altogether. On Monday's edtion of "The Dan Patrick Show," Sankey spoke about what his preferred playoff format.

"In that system, the final playoff bracket would simply take the 12 best teams, regardless of conference championships," Sankey said.

The 12-team College Football Playoff format was only introduced last season and had automatic spots for the four top-ranked conference champions. However, all four conference champions who received byes were beaten by teams who played in the first round the week before.

The model is young, and it is expected that changes will be made to help the playoff grow in the coming years. However, the debate on how this is done and who benefits from the expansion will continue.

About the author

Ben Tredinnick is a journalist who covers college football and college basketball at Sportskeeda who is currently studying for a masters in Data Science. His degree in Psychology has helped him gain an in-depth understanding of the minds of coaches.

Ben has been involved in sports writing since 2022 and covered the NFL previously. His strengths include providing in-depth profiles of athletes and coaches, with a particular focus on development, and looking at which teams could be in the hunt for today's college stars.

Ben enjoys following college sports more than the NBA or NFL because there is more variation in terms of playstyles. The tournaments are often more competitive than the major leagues, and due to the constant turnover of players, there are rarely any "superteams" in college sports.

He prioritizes research, looks at multiple sources and publications to make sure he gets the full picture of the story before writing. He tries not to write from a one-sided perspective to allow the reader to be able to make their mind up on their own.

A Texas Longhorns fan, as well as a massive New York Giants fan, some of his favorite college players of all time are Arch Manning, Tim Tebow and Reggie Bush.

When he is not working, Ben enjoys watching films (especially Godzilla) and spending time with his cat.

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez