Imagining a world with Greg Sankey in charge of the CFP Playoff

What if Greg Sankey's 16-team CFP was always here? Discover how college football's playoff picture changes & which teams gained the most bids.

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CFB Redzone

CFB Redzone

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Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey addressed SEC Media Days in Dallas on Monday, July 15, 2024.
Source: AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter

You read the title and thought something drastic happened on the CFP Playoff Format news front... And thankfully, that hasn't happened yet.

But if the Current SEC Commissioner were to have his way, then one of the most diabolical formats that I have ever seen in my life would have come into effect. Again, it hasn't happened yet. But if that day were to come, how we view the CFP Playoff and, more importantly, the Regular Season would be drastically changed.

So much so that here at Redshirt Sports, I wanted to imagine an alternate universe where the format proposed by Greg Sankey was the original CFP Playoff Format, dating back to the start of the 2014 CFB Season.

In order to make that happen, I had to make one alteration to the Sankey Format: The Pac-12 Conference did exist for most of the CFP Era, with the exception of last season. I assumed that, at least in the eyes of the SEC (and Big Ten as well, though they’ve done a much better job of PR Perception), it would be seen at a similar caliber as the Big 12 and the ACC. This gives the following format:

  • 4 AQs for the SEC
  • 4 AQs for the Big Ten
  • 2 AQs for the Big 12
  • 2 AQs for the ACC
  • 2 AQs for the PAC-12 (which become At-Large Bids following the collapse of the conference)
  • 1 AQ for the highest ranked Group of Five Champion
  • 1 At-Large Bid for highest ranked non-AQ Team

This would give us the 16-team Playoff Field that would theoretically be in place following the upcoming season. After retroactively applying this format back to the 2014 Season, I found some very interesting results not only from the total number of bids each team would receive over the years, but also within the year-to-year breakdowns, which you can find below!

Number of Total CFP Appearances per Team (2014-2024 Seasons)

  • Alabama: 11
  • Ohio State: 11
  • Georgia: 9
  • Clemson: 8
  • Penn State: 7
  • Michigan: 6
  • Oklahoma: 6
  • Oregon: 6
  • LSU: 5
  • Notre Dame: 5
  • Ole Miss: 5
  • USC: 5
  • Florida: 4
  • Iowa: 4
  • Michigan State: 4
  • Oklahoma State: 4
  • Utah: 4
  • Washington: 4
  • Wisconsin: 4
  • Auburn: 3
  • Baylor: 3
  • Northwestern: 3
  • TCU: 3
  • Texas: 3
  • Boise State: 2
  • Cincinnati: 2
  • Florida State: 2
  • Indiana: 2
  • Iowa State: 2
  • Kentucky: 2
  • Miami: 2
  • Minnesota: 2
  • Missouri: 2
  • North Carolina: 2
  • Pitt: 2
  • Stanford: 2
  • Tennessee: 2
  • Texas A&M: 2
  • UCF: 2
  • Arizona: 1
  • Arizona State: 1
  • Arkansas: 1
  • Coastal Carolina: 1
  • Colorado: 1
  • Georgia Tech: 1
  • Houston: 1
  • Kansas State: 1
  • Liberty: 1
  • Louisville: 1
  • Memphis: 1
  • Mississippi State: 1
  • Purdue: 1
  • SMU: 1
  • Tulane: 1
  • Virginia: 1
  • Virginia Tech: 1
  • Wake Forest: 1
  • Western Michigan: 1

2024 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Georgia
  • SEC 2: Texas
  • SEC 3: Tennessee
  • SEC 4: Alabama
  • Big Ten 1: Oregon
  • Big Ten 2: Penn State
  • Big Ten 3: Indiana
  • Big Ten 4: Ohio State
  • ACC 1: Clemson
  • ACC 2: SMU
  • Big Twelve 1: Arizona State
  • Big Twelve 2: Iowa State
  • G5 Rep: Boise State
  • At-Large: Notre Dame
  • At-Large: Miami
  • At-Large: Ole Miss

2023 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Alabama
  • SEC 2: Georgia
  • SEC 3: Ole Miss
  • SEC 4: LSU
  • Big Ten 1: Michigan
  • Big Ten 2: Iowa
  • Big Ten 3: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 4: Penn State
  • ACC 1: Florida State
  • ACC 2: Louisville
  • Big Twelve 1: Texas
  • Big Twelve 2: Oklahoma State
  • G5 Rep: Liberty
  • Pac Twelve 1: Washington
  • Pac Twelve 2: Oregon
  • At-Large: Missouri

2022 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Georgia
  • SEC 2: LSU
  • SEC 3: Alabama
  • SEC 4: Tennessee
  • Big Ten 1: Michigan
  • Big Ten 2: Purdue
  • Big Ten 3: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 4: Penn State
  • ACC 1: Clemson
  • ACC 2: North Carolina
  • Big Twelve 1: Kansas State
  • Big Twelve 2: TCU
  • G5 Rep: Tulane
  • Pac Twelve 1: Utah
  • Pac Twelve 2: USC
  • At-Large: Washington

2021 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Alabama
  • SEC 2: Georgia
  • SEC 3: Ole Miss
  • SEC 4: Kentucky
  • Big Ten 1: Michigan
  • Big Ten 2: Iowa
  • Big Ten 3: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 4: Michigan State
  • ACC 1: Pitt
  • ACC 2: Wake Forest
  • Big Twelve 1: Baylor
  • Big Twelve 2: Oklahoma State
  • G5 Rep: Cincinnati
  • Pac Twelve 1: Utah
  • Pac Twelve 2: Oregon
  • At-Large: Notre Dame

2020 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Alabama
  • SEC 2: Florida
  • SEC 3: Texas A&M
  • SEC 4: Georgia
  • Big Ten 1: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 2: Northwestern
  • Big Ten 3: Indiana
  • Big Ten 4: Iowa
  • ACC 1: Clemson
  • ACC 2: Notre Dame (Only Year in CFP Era that ND was a part of conference)
  • Big Twelve 1: Oklahoma
  • Big Twelve 2: Iowa State
  • G5 Rep: Cincinnati
  • Pac Twelve 1: Oregon
  • Pac Twelve 2: USC
  • At-Large: Coastal Carolina

2019 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: LSU
  • SEC 2: Georgia
  • SEC 3: Florida
  • SEC 4: Alabama
  • Big Ten 1: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 2: Wisconsin
  • Big Ten 3: Penn State
  • Big Ten 4: Minnesota
  • ACC 1: Clemson
  • ACC 2: Virginia
  • Big Twelve 1: Oklahoma
  • Big Twelve 2: Baylor
  • G5 Rep: Memphis
  • Pac Twelve 1: Oregon
  • Pac Twelve 2: Utah
  • At-Large: Auburn

2018 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Alabama
  • SEC 2: Georgia
  • SEC 3: Texas A&M
  • SEC 4: Kentucky
  • Big Ten 1: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 2: Northwestern
  • Big Ten 3: Michigan
  • Big Ten 4: Penn State
  • ACC 1: Clemson
  • ACC 2: Pitt
  • Big Twelve 1: Oklahoma
  • Big Twelve 2: Texas
  • G5 Rep: UCF
  • Pac Twelve 1: Washington
  • Pac Twelve 2: Utah
  • At-Large: Notre Dame

2017 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Georgia
  • SEC 2: Auburn
  • SEC 3: Alabama
  • SEC 4: LSU
  • Big Ten 1: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 2: Wisconsin
  • Big Ten 3: Northwestern
  • Big Ten 4: Michigan State
  • ACC 1: Clemson
  • ACC 2: Miami
  • Big Twelve 1: Oklahoma
  • Big Twelve 2: TCU
  • G5 Rep: UCF
  • Pac Twelve 1: USC
  • Pac Twelve 2: Stanford
  • At-Large: Penn State

2016 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Alabama
  • SEC 2: Florida
  • SEC 3: Auburn
  • SEC 4: LSU
  • Big Ten 1: Penn State
  • Big Ten 2: Wisconsin
  • Big Ten 3: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 4: Michigan
  • ACC 1: Clemson
  • ACC 2: Virginia Tech
  • Big Twelve 1: Oklahoma
  • Big Twelve 2: Oklahoma State
  • G5 Rep: Western Michigan
  • Pac Twelve 1: Washington
  • Pac Twelve 2: Colorado
  • At-Large: USC

2015 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Alabama
  • SEC 2: Florida
  • SEC 3: Ole Miss
  • SEC 4: Arkansas
  • Big Ten 1: Michigan State
  • Big Ten 2: Iowa
  • Big Ten 3: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 4: Michigan
  • ACC 1: Clemson
  • ACC 2: North Carolina
  • Big Twelve 1: Oklahoma
  • Big Twelve 2: Oklahoma State
  • G5 Rep: Houston
  • Pac Twelve 1: Stanford
  • Pac Twelve 2: USC
  • At-Large: Notre Dame

2014 Season Seedings

  • SEC 1: Alabama
  • SEC 2: Missouri
  • SEC 3: Georgia
  • SEC 4: Mississippi State
  • Big Ten 1: Ohio State
  • Big Ten 2: Wisconsin
  • Big Ten 3: Michigan State
  • Big Ten 4: Minnesota
  • ACC 1: Florida State
  • ACC 2: Georgia Tech
  • Big Twelve 1: Baylor
  • Big Twelve 2: TCU
  • G5 Rep: Boise State
  • Pac Twelve 1: Oregon
  • Pac Twelve 2: Arizona
  • At-Large: Ole Miss

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