ATLANTA — Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz on Thursday unabashedly advocated for a playoff format that runs opposite to lots of his SEC friends, aligning himself with the Huge Ten’s proposal of 4 automated qualifiers for the Huge Ten and SEC in a 16-team subject in 2026.
Drinkwitz, chatting with ESPN on the final day of SEC media days, stated he would “100%” prefer to eradicate the CFP choice committee from the method and is not against eliminating the SEC championship sport. He stated growing the sector by two or 4 is “inconsequential,” and his preferrred mannequin would allocate 4 assured spots every to the Huge Ten and SEC, three every to the ACC and Huge 12, one for the highest-ranked Group of 5 convention champion and one other at-large.
“Why are we losing all this time discussing it?” he stated. “If we’ll do one thing monumental, do one thing monumental. Assume outdoors the field. It is a very simple method. … We have all complained. The commissioner bought up and complained. Coaches bought up and complained concerning the choice course of, which is comprehensible. It is a human system that has no customary of choosing. There’s going to be implicit bias. Why would we add extra to that? I do not perceive that.”
The SEC coaches started to lean towards the 5+11 mannequin at their spring conferences in Destin, Florida, after seeing graphs and parts from a examine of the playoff that simulated what would have occurred in numerous fashions. Whereas it wasn’t unanimous — Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin this week continued to push for the 16 finest groups with out automated bids — the SEC’s assist for the 5+11 format elicited private and non-private sentiments of settlement from different FBS leaders, together with within the ACC and Huge 12.
Round two months later, Drinkwitz stated now that he has had time to consider it, he believes the mannequin with automated qualifiers would finest profit a program like Missouri, which has been a Prime 25 crew just lately however nonetheless out of attain for the CFP.
“Once you really sit again and may sit on a seaside and browse books and suppose by way of, you are like, ‘Wait, this does not make sense,'” he stated of 5+11 mannequin. “It does not make sense for the College of Missouri. It is smart for blue bloods who’re persistently ranked within the Prime 25 and yearly have the implicit bias of being ranked — perhaps not based mostly off product, however based mostly off of media advertising and marketing and branding. However in the event you’re speaking about within the SEC, you must end within the prime eight to compete within the playoff? Or within the SEC you must end within the prime three? That is a completely completely different problem.”
Earlier Thursday morning, Drinkwitz opened his remarks on the podium by conceding he realized what he was about to say “isn’t going to do me any favors with our commissioner.” On Monday, Sankey stated the SEC and Huge Ten had a “completely different view” of what the playoff ought to be.
“I have never picked the format,” Sankey instructed ESPN on Wednesday about his playoff desire. “What I’ve stated is, after our conversations, our membership is concerned with shifting to 16, I feel that is a accountable approach to talk it.”
Drinkwitz stated fashions with automated qualifiers have been introduced to the SEC coaches in Destin two methods: with and with out the convention title sport.
“I am for the SEC championship sport,” he stated. “I feel it is a fantastic sport. We’re doing extra to eradicate it by including an 11+5 mannequin as a result of what is the emphasis of taking part in that sport?”
With the SEC championship sport nonetheless part of the method, the play-in video games would come with No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5. With out the SEC title sport, there might be eight SEC groups taking part in for a spot on convention championship weekend.
“Would you relatively miss the playoff as a result of a variety committee did not choose you? Or miss the playoff since you did not win on the sector?” Drinkwitz stated. “Which one is less complicated for the fan base, the gamers and the coaches to simply accept? As an alternative we’ll rise up right here and complain concerning the choice committee that we all know is a flawed course of. I simply do not perceive. There’s lies, there’s rattling lies, and there is statistics. We’ll depend on statistics.”