INDIANAPOLIS — Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti will take a wait-and-see approach before judging the 12-team College Football Playoff, but he also remains open to expanding the tournament after the current layout expires following the 2025 season.
“I don’t have a magic number in my head,” Petitti told The Athletic. “I really am open-minded about seeing and making sure this works. Let’s see what happens this year. Let’s see the impact on the regular season. Let’s see what the Big Ten does on the field, in the committee room and all of that. I think that’s where I am.
“Whether it’s 12 or 14, we’ll see. But I focus on the fact that we’re really deep. We’re 18 (teams) deep.”
Petitti has presided over numerous changes in his barely 14 months as the league’s commissioner. Along with integrating USC and UCLA, who agreed to join the Big Ten 11 months before he began, Petitti invited Washington and Oregon as new members last August. All four become official Big Ten members on Aug. 2.
But the conversation around the expanded College Football Playoff is what takes precedence, especially in its first year as a 12-team entity. There’s pressure for every league to secure as many Playoff spots as possible, and though there are criteria, it’s also ambiguous. The selection committee can choose what criteria to use and each member can weigh the data differently against what they see on video. The top five conference champions automatically qualify — the top four receive byes — and seven teams receive at-large bids.
“When you get to a selection process, when you only get the one automatic qualifier, you’re going to be in the hands of the committee,” Petitti said. “By nature, it’s not scientific. It’s not based on any hardcore record. At the end of the day, all of these factors come in and I think for every individual, how they measure it is different. So, that’s why I think if you look at it, being able to qualify more off your conference record makes more sense.”
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Playoff expansion is good for the game and the Big Ten, Petitti said. In the previous four-team Playoff era, the Big Ten failed to qualify twice over a 10-year period. It also won two national titles (2014, 2023) and landed a pair of teams in 2022. Overall, the Big Ten made nine CFP appearances (Ohio State 5, Michigan 3, Michigan State 1) over the 10-year period. Among the incoming former Pac-12 teams, Washington qualified twice while Oregon played in the inaugural four-team championship.
Petitti believes the Big Ten is well positioned to place multiple teams in the 12-team Playoff but there’s a fear of a quality team getting left out.
“What I like the most about it is that we’re trying to start to change the definition of what success is in college football,” Petitti said. “This idea that (going) undefeated or (having) one loss is the only way to measure a great team is not fair. You could be really, really good and be 9-3 in the Big Ten. I’m optimistic that that’s the path we’re on.
“I’ve said this pretty consistently: the postseason and regular season have to work together. This is about the whole journey for the players and coaches to get an opportunity. It’s got to be about that. So I think this is a really great step.”
Five of the top 10 teams in the final CFP poll last December now are Big Ten members: defending national champion Michigan (1), runner-up Washington (2), No. 7 Ohio State, No. 8 Oregon and No. 10 Penn State. All five would have qualified for an expanded CFP last year, while the SEC would have sent four but had the top three teams ranked outside of the Playoff.
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To best position itself based on criteria, the Big Ten plays nine league games and 16 teams schedule at least 10 contests against Power 4 competition. Among other power conferences, all 16 in the Big 12 face at least 10 power conference schools, while 11 in the ACC and only three in the SEC. But the SEC’s overall strength displayed by its championships (nine in the BCS’ 16 years, six of 10 in the four-team CFP) and the eye test often renders that measurement moot.
“We want to incentivize our schools to play great non-conference schedules,” Petitti said. “That’s a really important fabric of college football. We want to make sure that whatever postseason system we have is encouraging those types of matchups.”
The Big Ten is working alongside the SEC in developing its tiebreakers in qualifying for the league championship game.
“Does it makes sense to have criteria look the same? Petitti said. “They’re in the same situation with a large league, no more divisions, bringing the two best teams to the championship game.”
(Photo: Robert Goddin / USA Today)
