"I think you have to eliminate": SEC admirer Paul Finebaum shares unique proposal to expand College Football Playoff

The SEC and the Big Ten are reportedly seeking to get four automatic bids in the proposed expansion of the College Football Playoff. Following the inaugural year of the 12-team playoffs, decision-makers in the landscape are looking to expand to 14 or 16 teams by 2026.

With automatic playoff bids, the value of conference championship games is bound to reduce. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum recently suggested on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” that he could see the SEC potentially eliminating its conference championship game altogether.

“I think there’s two schools of thought,” Finebaum said. “The old school thought is everything we already know about those weekends, but I think you have to eliminate that because that weekend is already getting diluted slightly.

“It even felt that way this year in Atlanta. Yeah, there were a handful of empty seats. We knew both programs were going to the Playoff, we just didn’t know which one [would earn a bye].”

Georgia and Texas entered the 2024 SEC championship game with their playoff spot secured. This, without a doubt, had a toll on how fascinating the game was meant to be. This was different from what it looked like when Alabama and Georgia played for the title in 2023.

The SEC championship game fascination is bound to disappear

The SEC has been the gold standard over the years, and its championship game has caught a lot of attention and lived up to the billing due to what's at stake. This is something automatic college football playoff bids take off the table. Finebaum cited the low stakes from the last title game.

“There were a lot of people watching the game as it was, but there was minimum on the line. There was a first-round bye on the line, which didn’t really seem to help either team,” Finebaum said.

“And didn’t help anybody in the field, but I think it can be done that way. But if you start getting game in Atlanta and then two or three home sites, I think the weekend is gonna be a mirage.”

From a highly-anticipated matchup, the conference title game will become a glorified exhibition should the automatic bids turn into reality. The contest is bound to face a similar fate to that of many Bowl games in the realm, which top draft-eligible players now skip.

Furthermore, teams will also try to avoid the game so they can prepare better for the playoffs. Participating teams will also give it less intensity to avoid unfortunate situations like injuries or fatigue ahead of the playoffs.