This article is paywalled, so I can't read all of the details. If someone who can access it would like to confirm these tidbits, feel free, but it seems the SEC is considering a qualifying weekend entailing the top 8 teams in the conference (1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5) and the Big Ten is considering a qualifying weekend involving seeds 3-6 (3 vs 6, 4 vs 5). It seems the 1 and 2 seeds would still play in a conference championship game for a 1st round bye week in the CFP, but both teams (including the loser) would still be guaranteed a CFP spot regardless of the outcome.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of a qualifying weekend, it would occur during conference championship weekend, and these games would essentially replace (or add onto) a singular conference championship game per conference with several win-or-go-home qualifying games with a CFP spot on the line. If you're unfamiliar with the current CFP expansion talks, the Big Ten and SEC essentially have (nearly) sole authority over a new CFP format set to take place in 2026 where each of those two conferences wants 4 automatic bids each. 

I know most people are against the concept of auto bids—myself included—but it seems like that's the direction we're headed. Under those circumstances, I actually like the idea of a qualifying weekend. There is such a wide variation in the difficulty of conference schedules (which can't easily be fixed) that it seems unfair to simply give the top 4 seeds in each conference auto bids solely based on conference record. For example, the SEC had 6 teams with 3 conference losses after UGA, Texas, and Tennessee. This would be a nightmare to determine who gets the final spot without allowing it to play out on the field.

Also, rewarding the top 2 seeds in the conference with auto bids still gives teams a high level of incentive to finish in the top 2 of the conference to avoid a nightmare scenario where they get upset in a qualifying game. For example, Ohio State losing to TTUN this past season would've resulted in them having to play a qualifying game in order to get into the CFP, as opposed to guaranteeing themselves a CFP spot by beating them and playing a low-stakes conference championship game for a bye week.

The SEC format is incredibly unfair. The 1 and 2 seeds shouldn't have to win an extra game against a mediocre team in the conference in order to qualify for the CFP. I'm glad it doesn't seem that the Big Ten is considering this format.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6147160/2025/02/19/conference-champions...