American commissioner Tim Pernetti pushing for Group of Six playoff with a twist
Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images The Group of Six playoff idea is one of those college football topics that tends to come up every year and go nowhere fast. Tim Pernetti is trying to change that. Pernetti first floated the idea at his introductory press conference in spring 2024, before he’d even officially started the job.
He wasn’t lobbying for more CFP spots. He knew the six-year deal was locked and the Group of Six’s automatic bid was what it was. The American had earned that bid last season and nearly did the year before.
What he said instead was that there was room for more. What that means in practice is a standalone Group of Six playoff for the five conference champions who don’t earn the CFP’s automatic bid. The semifinals would be played on Tuesday and Wednesday of CFP semifinal week, with the CFP games following on Thursday.
The Group of Six’s existing automatic bid to the CFP remains unchanged. “There is demand for more postseason football,” Pernetti recently said on The Big Mountain Podcast , per Football Scoop . “You have five conference champions that are not going to the Playoff.
How do we create a new enterprise that complements the CFP? Maybe we play on Tuesday and Wednesday, leading into Thursday. There’s a gap there — from Sunday NFL, Monday Night Football , Group of Six playoff, Group of Six playoff, CFP, CFP, back to the NFL.