Ohio State head coach Ryan Day says he's in favor of the Big Ten receiving four automatic bids in the College Football Playoff.
"We're in the Big Ten, and we have 18 teams and some of the best programs in the country," Day told ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "I feel like we deserve at least four automatic qualifiers."
College football leaders are currently debating what the future format of the CFP will be after this season, when it likely expands to 16 teams in the 2026 campaign.
The 4-4-2-2-1 model SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is pushing would involve his conference and the Big Ten each getting four automatic bids, while the ACC and Big 12 would receive two each. The last automatic spot would be reserved for the top-ranked Group of 5 champion.
That would leave just three spots to be filled by at-large selections. However, the Big 12 and ACC have both pushed back against the SEC's preferred format.
The more universally agreed upon model is referred to as the 5+11 and would feature the five highest-ranked conference champions getting an automatic selection, leaving 11 spots for at-large selections - similar to the current format. Ohio State won last season's CFP National Championship after entering the 12-team playoff field as an at-large selection.
Part of Day's reasoning for the Big Ten receiving more guaranteed CFP spots is that the conference recently added two of the Pac-12's top programs: Oregon and Washington.
"You would have had at least a team or two (in the CFP from the Pac-12)," Day said. "So it only makes sense when you have 18 teams, especially the quality of teams that you would have (in) that many teams representing the Big Ten."
The reigning national champion head coach also said he believes it would encourage schools to book more competitive non-conference games, such as the Buckeyes' season opener this year against Texas.
"If you don't have those automatic qualifiers, you're less likely to play a game like we're playing this year against Texas, because it just won't make sense," Day added. "If we do, then you're more likely to do that, because we play nine conference games in the Big Ten. The SEC doesn't. So it's not equal."