Your conference has won the last two national championships in the College Football Playoff. You’ve won your first five postseason games of the season, including a first round CFP game. There are eight bowl games ahead for your conference this week, and your only an underdog in two of them. Your league has a legit chance to have two of your conference members meet in the title game in mid-January.
Regardless, the Big Ten is still chasing the Southeastern Conference in terms of national perception.
Most Still Consider the SEC the Best Conference in College Football
Ask 1,000 die hard followers of college football, and 75% of them will say the SEC is the best football conference in America.
Of all the programs in all the land, the Indiana Hoosiers are the team that has a chance to at the very least alter all that.
Long a CFB doormat, IU is now the top-ranked team in the country. After defeating defending national champion Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game, the unbeaten Hoosiers enter the playoffs the betting favorite to make it three in a row for the Big Ten. And the Buckeyes would be right behind.
On the other hand, blue-blood college football program Alabama, with it’s 18 national title trophies perched in the massive trophy case back in Tuscaloosa, shouldn’t have even been chosen for the 2025 playoff field. With three losses, including a season-opening throttling by a below average Florida State outfit and a championship game blowout loss to rival Georgia, the Crimson Tide limped into the playoff as the 10th seed, getting in largely on reputation. An CFP opening round come from behind win over new conference rival Oklahoma quieted most of the critics, but still, can anyone imagine the University of Alabama being a touchdown underdog to the University of Indiana in football anytime, anywhere, ever?
Given the names of the front of the jerseys, well more than half of those same 1,000 college football diehards would likely pick Alabama to win the upcoming Rose Bowl game between the two on New Year’s Day.
Others Believe the SEC is Overrated
Is it just reputation? Is the SEC overrated?
Not at the very top. We’ll see how remaining SEC standouts Georgia, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss (along with Alabama) proceed through the tournament. But a first-round home loss by conference heavyweight Texas A&M to ACC at-large selection Miami didn’t help. Most followers of the other Power Four conferences will say that far too much value is placed on the middle and lower half of the SEC.
The Missouri Tigers might be the posterchild for the inflated national perception of the SEC. After losing their bowl game to ACC member Virginia, the Tigers ended the season without a win over a team with a .500 or better record. Yet for whatever reason, they remained nationally ranked for the entire season (to this point.) That means that the SEC teams that defeated Mizzou – including Alabama – got credit for a win over a ranked team.
Advocates for the other Power Four conferences contend that their leagues do not get that short of preferential treatment from the pollsters…including the CFP selection committee.
Regardless, Ohio State can take out Miami from the ACC, and Oregon can upend Big 12 champ Texas Tech. But that won’t move the needle.
Rose Bowl is the fifth and final (scheduled) postseason tilt between Big Ten and SEC teams. The Big Ten could win four of those, but unless Indiana beats Alabama in the Rose Bowl, nothing will change in terms of national perception. If the second or third (or fourth) best SEC team beats the Big Ten champ, our 1,000 die hards will line up 1,000% behind the SEC.
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