What happened: Fox analyst Joel Klatt stated on Thursday that the Big Ten and SEC will announce a joint scheduling agreement immediately after a 24-team College Football Playoff becomes official. Speaking with 1310 The Ticket in Dallas, Klatt indicated the two conferences already have the framework aligned to pair with the expanded postseason bracket.

Why it matters: Moving from the current 12-team field to 24 teams threatens to reduce regular-season urgency and eliminate conference championship games. An annual interconference slate would settle the ongoing strength-of-schedule debate between the two power leagues on the field, with flagship programs like Ohio State regularly drawing top SEC opponents.

What to watch: Conference commissioners and CFP leadership must first finalize the 24-team postseason format before announcing how Big Ten and SEC programs will be paired across the regular-season schedule.