In the debate over which college football conference is strongest, the Southeastern Conference argues its superior depth makes up for the Big Ten winning the last three national titles.
The Big Ten calls its reputation as a top-heavy conference unfair.
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti considers those three College Football Playoff championships 鈥� from in 2023, in 2024 and in 2025 鈥� testaments to the league鈥檚 strength from top to bottom.
鈥淵ou cannot send your top teams out into the CFP unless they鈥檝e played 鈥� and have them be successful, which we have been very successful 鈥� if they鈥檙e not going through a gauntlet in the regular season,鈥� Petitti said this week. 鈥淭his idea that the middle of our conference isn鈥檛 hard is just not right.鈥�
The balance of power between college football鈥檚 heavyweight conferences has been a major talking point at the leagues鈥�
Petitti spoke to reporters while standing beside the Big Ten鈥檚 three recent CFP trophies. Illinois coach Bret Bielema said the SEC was living in the past. said 鈥渢here鈥檚 no doubt鈥� the Big Ten is best.
鈥淭he numbers speak for themselves,鈥� Cignetti said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everything is earned, not given. When we fall short, we say, 鈥榃e fell short.鈥� We don鈥檛 cry a river, whine and complain. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e the best.鈥�
SEC Commissioner argued his league鈥檚 case a week earlier.
鈥淲hen you look at our schedule, no one has created the kind of weekly competition that exists in the Southeastern Conference,鈥� Sankey said.
Five different SEC schools combined to win 13 from 2006-22, but no SEC team has reached any of the last three championship games.
Both have evidence to support their claims
In the first two years under a 12-team CFP format, seven different SEC schools have made eight playoff appearances. The Big Ten had four schools total seven playoff berths.
Certain metrics support the idea that the 16-team SEC is stronger than the 18-school Big Ten at the bottom. ESPN鈥檚 Bill Connelly produces the SP+ rankings, a predictive measure rating each team鈥檚 efficiency while adjusting for tempo and an opponent鈥檚 strength.
The Big Ten had three of the top four teams in the while the SEC had nobody in the top five. But seven Big Ten programs ranked below the lowest SEC team on the list: No. 67 Kentucky.
Recent head-to-head results favor Big Ten
Over the last two seasons, the Big Ten went 10-7 against the SEC, including a 3-0 playoff record and a 5-2 mark in other bowl games. The Big Ten won as an underdog in all five of those non-playoff victories.
Illinois produced two of those upsets, beating South Carolina in the in 2024 and defeating Tennessee in the last season. So Bielema had reason to feel good about himself and his conference this week when he commented that SEC backers 鈥渒ind of want to live in 2005 forever.鈥�
The 2005 reference was curious because Texas won the title that season when it was still a Big 12 member, a year before the SEC began a string of seven straight titles. Bielema said he chose 2005 because that鈥檚 the year before his head coaching career began at Wisconsin.
鈥淭he transfer portal and revenue share or NIL, however you want to describe it, when those two elements came into college football, the whole world changed,鈥� said Bielema, who went 29-34 while coaching SEC school from 2013-17. 鈥淚 mean, it鈥檚 overly obvious to say that, but I think anything to predate that is just a different time in college football. It just is.鈥�
Big Ten capitalizes on changing times
Fourteen of the 22 playoff games over the last two years have featured Big Ten teams, including two conference rivals No wonder even Big Ten coaches with SEC backgrounds claim bragging rights.
鈥淚 just look at what the stats are, you know, and the last three years, the national champion has come out of this conference,鈥� said Purdue鈥檚 Barry Odom, who went 25-25 from 2016-19. 鈥淵ou also look at the number of playoff wins compared to any other conference, we鈥檝e won twice as many as the next conference in the playoffs.鈥�
UCLA quarterback has experience playing in both conferences after reaching the playoff in 2024.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 two great leagues 鈥� two great, physical leagues,鈥� Iamaleava said. 鈥淚 think the SEC brings a lot of physicality, but over the years, it鈥檚 kind of leveled out in terms of the playing field.鈥㊣ think everybody is able to get high-level athletes. … I think there鈥檚 definitely a lot of tough SEC teams, so that every week is going to be a game, but I feel the same way in the Big Ten.鈥�
The intensity of the debate frustrates coaches eager to settle it on the field, perhaps with more head-to-head matchups.
鈥淵ou never hear in the NFL, 鈥榃ow, the NFC鈥檚 better than the AFC,鈥欌�� Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 ever hear, 鈥機heck us out, we鈥檝e won the Super Bowl the last few years.’ We鈥檝e kind of made this some competition rather than just take a step back and say, 鈥榃ho cares?鈥� Let鈥檚 play.鈥�
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AP freelance writer Luke DeCock contributed to this report.
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