Steve Sarkisian prefers 4-team CFP, would like to see 'SEC Playoff' to determine Final Four

Steve Sarkisian put forth his own rational take regarding the CFP and the future of College Football Playoff expansion. Rather than make it bigger, the Texas coach would rather make it smaller and put forth modifications to conference play in college football.

How does that happen? Well, Sarkisian would love to go back to four teams in the CFP. Now hang on, it’s at 12 teams now right? With 16, 20 or 24 on the horizon? 

Well, hear Sarkisian out on this one. The four-team playoff is the “Final Four,” but you have to earn your way there through conference playoffs, like in the SEC.

“I’m okay with 24 I’m okay with 16, I’m okay with going back to four, if you want to know the truth,” Sarkisian said on Sirius XM. “I’ll give you my rationale on that. I really don’t care for the number we’re at right now, because we’re up to 12 … We’ve become a playoff or bust fan base around the country, but there’s not enough spots for us to have that mentality. 

“You can go to 24 and it be playoff or bust, and now it’s kind of like, okay, you either did or didn’t. 12 is a tough number, especially when it’s really not 12. G5 is getting a spot, Notre Dame’s getting a free spot, so you’re really at 10, and then you got some AQs at the other conferences, so your number is really pretty small in a conference like ours. My point to going back to four is this: I’m a big fan and a proponent of the SEC championship game. I think there’s something special about that game, and it means a lot. I’ve got a chance to coach in it three times, I’ve won two, and I’ve lost one.” 

So the idea from Sarkisian is to have a four-team playoff for the SEC. The winner punches their ticket to the CFP. Granted in this scenario, the CFP could limited to just the Power Four conferences by logic of conference playoffs.

To allow teams like Notre Dame or Group of Five schools to have a chance, they’d have to be in one of those Power Four conferences. It’s an intriguing idea on the surface, but likely would need some tinkering. We’ll let Sarkisian explain the logic.

“Okay, but if we went back to four, we could have our own SEC playoff for the SEC Championship game, because now the conference has expanded to where not everybody gets to play each other anymore,” Sarkisian said. “And so if we had our own mini playoff that could lead to an SEC Championship game, and that winner, you know, is going to the Final Four, and maybe even the team they beat is going to the Final Four, but everybody knows we all knew when those four teams played, those were the best four teams. 

“You could argue a couple years ago with Georgia, when they had won 33 in a row, and they lose to Bama, that was a weird year of how it all played out. We had beaten Bama in the regular season, Washington’s undefeated, Michigan’s undefeated, that was a tough year. But for the most part, those four teams we all knew. But you would have an opportunity to earn it if everybody had their own playoffs in their own conference, because conferences have grown, not everybody’s playing each other anymore.”