Inside the Big Ten-SEC Playoff Power Struggle with Ralph Russo of The Athletic

The Solid Verbal College Football

In this college football podcast episode, Ralph Russo from The Athletic joins us to break down the complex College Football Playoff negotiations happening behind closed doors between the Big Ten, SEC and other conferences. Our conversation centers on how the number of SEC conference games is driving the debate, explores the Big Ten's push for automatic qualifiers, and examines why these meetings keep happening without real progress.

Ralph explains the power dynamics between Tony Petitti and Greg Sankey, why ESPN might not want playoff expansion, and how Brett Yormark is trying to wedge the SEC away from the Big Ten. Plus, the "reimagined" conference championship weekend, whether a breakaway league is possible, and why this feels like college football's most charged moment since the BCS era.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

05:02 - The SEC Decision Tree

16:19 - Power dynamics: Who's really running these meetings?

27:26 - The Unpopularity of SEC & Big Ten Power

36:35 - Reporting challenges and ESPN's actual role vs. perception

42:08 - The future of playoff expansion and what's next

51:19 - Outro and preview season setup

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