1 year ago
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ATLANTA -- Missouri manager Eliah Drinkwitz connected Thursday unabashedly advocated for a playoff format that runs contrary to galore of his SEC peers, aligning himself with the Big Ten's connection of 4 automatic qualifiers for the Big Ten and SEC successful a 16-team tract successful 2026.
Drinkwitz, speaking to ESPN connected the past time of SEC media days, said helium would "100%" similar to destruct the CFP enactment committee from the process and isn't opposed to getting escaped of the SEC title game. He said expanding the tract by 2 oregon 4 is "inconsequential," and his perfect exemplary would allocate 4 guaranteed spots each to the Big Ten and SEC, 3 each to the ACC and Big 12, 1 for the highest-ranked Group of 5 league champion and different at-large.
"Why are we wasting each this clip discussing it?" helium said. "If we're going to bash thing monumental, bash thing monumental. Think extracurricular the box. It's a precise casual approach. ... We've each complained. The commissioner got up and complained. Coaches got up and complained astir the enactment process, which is understandable. It's a quality strategy that has nary modular of picking. There's going to beryllium implicit bias. Why would we adhd much to that? I don't recognize that."
The SEC coaches began to thin toward the 5+11 exemplary astatine their outpouring meetings successful Destin, Florida, aft seeing graphs and elements from a survey of the playoff that simulated what would person happened successful assorted models. While it wasn't unanimous -- Ole Miss manager Lane Kiffin this week continued to propulsion for the 16 champion teams without automatic bids -- the SEC's enactment for the 5+11 format elicited nationalist and backstage sentiments of statement from different FBS leaders, including successful the ACC and Big 12.
Around 2 months later, Drinkwitz said present that helium has had clip to deliberation astir it, helium believes the exemplary with automatic qualifiers would champion payment a programme similar Missouri, which has been a Top 25 squad precocious but inactive retired of scope for the CFP.
"When you really beryllium backmost and tin beryllium connected a formation and work books and deliberation through, you're like, 'Wait, this doesn't marque sense,'" helium said of 5+11 model. "It doesn't marque consciousness for the University of Missouri. It makes consciousness for bluish bloods who are consistently ranked successful the Top 25 and each twelvemonth person the implicit bias of being ranked -- possibly not based disconnected product, but based disconnected of media selling and branding. But if you're talking astir successful the SEC, you person to decorativeness successful the apical 8 to vie successful the playoff? Or successful the SEC you person to decorativeness successful the apical three? That's a wholly antithetic challenge."
Earlier Thursday morning, Drinkwitz opened his remarks astatine the podium by conceding helium realized what helium was astir to accidental "is not going to bash maine immoderate favors with our commissioner." On Monday, Sankey said the SEC and Big Ten had a "different view" of what the playoff should be.
"I haven't picked the format," Sankey told ESPN connected Wednesday astir his playoff preference. "What I've said is, aft our conversations, our rank is funny successful moving to 16, I deliberation that's a liable mode to pass it."
Drinkwitz said models with automatic qualifiers were presented to the SEC coaches successful Destin 2 ways: with and without the league rubric game.
"I'm for the SEC title game," helium said. "I deliberation it's a large game. We're doing much to destruct it by adding an 11+5 exemplary due to the fact that what's the accent of playing that game?"
With the SEC title crippled inactive a portion of the process, the play-in games would see No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5. Without the SEC rubric game, determination could beryllium 8 SEC teams playing for a spot connected league title weekend.
"Would you alternatively miss the playoff due to the fact that a enactment committee didn't prime you? Or miss the playoff due to the fact that you didn't triumph connected the field?" Drinkwitz said. "Which 1 is easier for the instrumentality base, the players and the coaches to accept? Instead we're going to get up present and kick astir the enactment committee that we cognize is simply a flawed process. I conscionable don't understand. There's lies, there's damn lies, and there's statistics. We're going to trust connected statistics."
