Penn State’s James Franklin challenges Big Ten scheduling as the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 raise the bar with 10 power conference opponents by 2026.
Penn State's James Franklin weighs in on Big Ten as SEC, ACC, Big 12 lock 10 power opponents originally appeared on The Sporting News
Starting next season, the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 will all hold their members to a new scheduling standard: 10 games against power conference opponents. The Big Ten, however, has no plans to follow suit, according to multiple sources.
That gap has already sparked questions about fairness in the College Football Playoff debate and left coaches like Penn State’s James Franklin pushing for consistency.
The Big Ten has long touted its nine-game league slate as tougher than the SEC’s eight. But unlike its peers, the league does not require schools to add a non-conference power opponent.
For Franklin and others, that discrepancy raises problems for playoff selection and undermines the league’s own claims about playing the hardest schedule.
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The Big 12 has required 10 power matchups for the past two years, and the SEC and ACC will begin doing the same in 2026. In contrast, a Big Ten official said the issue “hasn’t been discussed,” while another added there is “nothing on the immediate horizon.”
That likely means the 2026 playoff will mirror the 12-team format set for 2024 and 2025.
Franklin was clear at media days in July.
“Everybody has to play the same number of conference games,” he said. “This ain’t that hard. Everybody should be playing eight or everybody should be playing nine.”
He argued that uniform schedules and league championships would bring clarity to playoff decisions.
Six Big Ten programs, including Penn State and Washington, are not facing a non-conference power opponent this season. Next year, Indiana, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, and Washington again have no such matchup on the books.
By comparison, Notre Dame, though independent, will play 10 power conference teams in 2024 and at least nine in 2026.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti echoed Franklin’s point, saying,
“We need to standardize the schedule across the board if we want to have objective criteria for who should be in the playoffs and who shouldn’t.”
Commissioner Tony Petitti has defended the Big Ten’s nine-game slate, citing “simple math” with 18 teams.
Still, critics argue that if the conference wants to claim the toughest schedule, it should require that extra non-league power matchup, just as the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 now do.
Category: General Sports
