Lane Kiffin (LSU football coach) expressed his discontent with the SEC's decision to shift to a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026. He stated that this change makes 'zero sense' without a corresponding overhaul of the College Football Playoff (CFP) selection process, which he believes does not sufficiently reward teams for their strength of schedule. Kiffin pointed out that adding another tough game could lead to more losses for teams in a highly competitive conference. He acknowledged the financial motivations behind the schedule change but reiterated that the current playoff structure remains largely unchanged, failing to address the competitive implications. As it stands, the CFP will remain at 12 teams in 2026, but discussions are ongoing regarding a potential expansion to include more automatic bids for teams from the SEC and Big Ten.