Following years of discussion, the SEC is officially moving to a nine-game conference schedule in 2026. But with the College Football Playoff staying at 12 teams rather than growing to 16, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko said he has some concerns.
Elko told Paul Finebaum he expects the schedule to come up during the SEC’s spring meetings in Destin next month as the conference prepares to add a game. While he’s not sure what the discussion will entail, he sounded confident the topic would come up when conference officials get together.
Because the CFP didn’t expand after talks broke down, Mike Elko said it’s tougher to make the bracket with a longer conference schedule. He expressed his trust in SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to come up with a plan, though.
“I don’t know what the conversation will be like,” Elko said on The Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday. “Obviously, we feel like it’s a little bit challenging to play nine SEC games and only have 12 [teams] in the playoffs. I think it obviously makes our path a little bit difficult. It’s where it is. So from that perspective, there’s nothing you can do about it except get your team ready and try to go compete.
“But I’m sure there will be a lot of conversations about what the future of this whole thing looks like in Destin. I’ve got a lot of trust in Greg and respect for Greg and the job that he does. I’m sure he’ll have a good plan to set forth for the conference.”
Discussions went on during the 2025 season about expanding the College Football Playoff from 12 teams to 16 in 2026-27. However, those talks stalled, and the bracket will stay the same this year. There are some changes, though. Notre Dame will now get an automatic spot in the bracket if it’s one of the Top 12 teams in the final rankings and the Power Four conferences are also guaranteed bids. Last year, ACC champion Duke missed out on the bracket.
But the SEC’s decision to go to nine games drew concerns from the league’s coaches. That includes Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who told David Pollack in December that he thinks the new schedule could cost the conference a spot in a 12-team CFP.
“One more loss,” Smart said. “I think it’s going to end up affecting, unless we increase the playoffs. But if we don’t increase the playoffs, it’s going to cost us probably a playoff spot.”