Who is better among the nation’s top two Power 4 conferences has been a debate since before the end of the BCS era. In most years, the debate is not close, but the college football playoff is changing the narrative slightly.
In the first ever college football playoff, No. 4 Ohio State beat No. 1 Alabama en route to the first ever college football playoff title. The Buckeyes also won the first ever 12-team playoff last year beating No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers, No. 1 Oregon Ducks, No. 5 Texas Longhorns and eventually No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish before hoisting the trophy. In 2024 No. 1 Michigan Wolverines beat No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 2 Washington Huskies who beat No. 3 Texas.
The issue with this debate is that it’s unbalanced. In the time Ohio State won the first college football playoff and the most recent 12-team college playoff, every other national champion has been from the SEC and often beat another SEC team in the process. In order, Alabama over Clemson, Alabama over Clemson, Alabama over Georgia, Clemson over Alabama, LSU over Clemson, Alabama over Ohio State, Georgia over Alabama, and Georgia over TCU.
While the Big Ten is the next best opponent to the SEC, the sample sizes don’t line up. This year’s chapter has yet to be written. While SEC fans would argue, get in line, you’ve got a ways to go; Big Ten fans might argue that time is now. In the current AP top 25, the Big Ten has three teams in the top 10. With Ohio State at 1, Indiana at 2, and Oregon at 7. While the SEC has five teams in the top 10 but all of them are 4th or lower.
Herbstreit says the annual SEC vs Big Ten debate is not debate in 2025
According to Sports Illustrated, Kirk Herbstreit was on a livestream with fellow college football analyst Joey Galloway when the two began fielding questions from the commenters. The question answered was, “Which league, the Big Ten or the SEC, is better top to bottom right now?” Herbstreit’s answer would suggest he thinks the question is a little silly. If top to bottom includes all the AP top 25 or even beyond, Herbstreit is correct.
"I thought that was a trick question," Herbstreit responded. "There’s no debate in that at all. We’d like for there to be a debate. There's not." Said Herbstreit with Galloway agreeing. "We would love for there to be a debate," he added. "In past seasons, there was a bit of a debate. But this season..." He trailed off as Herbstreit explained ‘top to bottom’, the SEC does have the clear edge. "I think what happens is top to bottom," Herbstreit emphasized. "Like the middle and the bottom of the SEC — different. It’s different."
The issue is in the phrasing, top to bottom. No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 7 Oregon is all solidly impressive. However, after Oregon, you must go down ten spots to find the next Big Ten school in USC, then No. 18 Michigan. That’s the Big Ten list. However, the SEC is represented all over the top 25. No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Texas. Then it gets interesting. No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 21 Tennessee.
In 2025 its top-heavy vs top to bottom
The debate comes down to heavy at the top vs top to bottom. Where the debate falls off the rails is when we consider what’s outside the top 25. Keep in mind, many of the usual suspects are not having great seasons. Missouri, LSU, Florida, Mississippi State, Auburn, and Arkansas are all unranked. Whereas the unranked Big Ten schools are rarely contenders in the national discussion.
"They’re looking at Ohio State, Indiana Oregon. You got three top 10 teams at the top," Galloway noted, as Herbstreit added that Michigan and USC are also viable contenders. "But then your bottom your bottom falls out."
This debate is unlikely to end any time soon. Short of the NCAA dissolving the conferences we currently have, fans are always going to have conference loyalty. The Big Ten fans will argue that the SEC’s era of dominance is over, while SEC fans will say go back to the kiddie table.
These debates, as long as they remain civil, are a nice aspect of competition between fans. It’s also the beauty of the college football playoff. Eventually the top teams from the SEC and the Big Ten will face each other and let the game results do the talking.
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