RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The war of words between the SEC and Big Ten saw its latest battle fought on social media on Tuesday.
ESPN SEC reporter Peter Burns shared a graphic of the initial coaches poll published by USA Today, listing the top 25 teams in the country as voted by coaches across college football. Burns added his own commentary to the graphic, noting that nine SEC teams were set to play at least five opponents that made the top 25, compared to zero Big Ten teams that would take on at least five top-25 matchups.
9 SEC schools play at least 5 of the Top 25 teams in the coaches poll
Not a single Big 10 team plays 5.
Efficient work https://t.co/HCvPDn2pGh
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) August 4, 2026
Unfortunately for Burns, his post was immediately flagged by a few Big Ten backers, who noted he was very incorrect in his count.
On this very graphic you posted:
Ohio State plays 6 teams.
Michigan plays 6 teams.
USC plays 5 teams.
Nebraska plays 5 teams.
Minnesota plays 5 teams.
Washington plays 5 teams.
Purdue plays 5 teams.
— BIG Commish (@TheB1GCommish) August 4, 2026
Indeed, the seven Big Ten schools listed are currently set to face at least five opponents present in the top-25 graphic Burns put forward. They are listed below.
Ohio State (6) : at No. 4 Texas (Week 2), at No. 22 Iowa (Week 4), at No. 6 Indiana (Week 7), at No. 14 USC (Week 9), vs. No. 2 Oregon (Week 10), vs. No. 16 Michigan (Week 13)
Michigan (6) : vs. No. 9 Oklahoma (Week 2), vs. No. 22 Iowa (Week 4), vs. No. 17 Penn State (Week 7), vs. No. 6 Indiana (Week 8), at No. 2 Oregon (Week 11), at No. 1 Ohio State (Week 13)
USC (5) : vs. No. 2 Oregon (Week 4), vs. No. 19 Washington (Week 5), at No. 17 Penn State (Week 6), vs. No. 1 Ohio State (Week 9), at No. 6 Indiana (Week 11)
Nebraska (5) : vs. No. 6 Indiana (Week 6), at No. 2 Oregon (Week 7), vs. No. 19 Washington (Week 9), vs. No. 1 Ohio State (Week 12), at No. 22 Iowa (Week 13)
Minnesota (5) : at No. 19 Washington (Week 4), vs. No. 16 Michigan (Week 5), vs. No. 22 Iowa (Week 8), at No. 6 Indiana (Week 9), at No. 17 Penn State (Week 11)
Washington (5) : at No. 14 USC (Week 5), vs. No. 22 Iowa (Week 6), vs. No. 17 Penn State (Week 10), vs. No. 6 Indiana (Week 12), at No. 2 Oregon (Week 13)
Purdue (5) : vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (Week 4), vs. No. 19 Washington (Week 7), at No. 17 Penn State (Week 9), at No. 22 Iowa (Week 11), at No. 6 Indiana (Week 13)
Additionally, by our count, Northwestern will also face five teams currently in the coaches’ top 25 ranking — at No. 6 Indiana (Week 4), vs. No. 17 Penn State (Week 5), at No. 2 Oregon (Week 9), vs. No. 22 Iowa (Week 10), at No. 1 Ohio State (Week 11) — although they weren’t included in the initial critique of Burns’s tweet.
That makes it eight teams in the Big Ten, all told, that will play at least five games against top-25 competition as ranked by the preseason coaches’ poll.
After seeing how wide Burns missed the mark on his initial post, it felt worthwhile checking his math on the SEC as well . While he said nine SEC teams would play at least five top-25 matchups, we count a whopping 13 teams — Texas and Arkansas lead the way with seven, followed by Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas A&M with six, and Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt all with five apiece.
Whether due to miscalculated math, misread schedules, or something else, Burns’s post was simply incorrect. At the very least, the fact that Burns also appeared to miss some SEC teams in his count at least shows he was incorrect on both sides of the equation.
Such a mistake might simply pass mostly unnoticed in simpler times, but given the current state of the SEC vs. Big Ten rivalry for college football supremacy, Burns’s message was put under the microscope.
Anyone who has been watching college football the past few years knows that the Big Ten has the upper hand of late, having won three straight national championships and largely dominating the postseason. The SEC’s greatest defenders are left to argue that they are still the top dogs in college football because of television ratings and strength of schedule . Meanwhile, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti spent his time at the podium on Big Ten media days needling the SEC with some pretty clear shots.
What makes the entire exercise even more hilarious is the fact that Burns’s initial critique, which again appears to have been way off the mark, is based on preseason rankings. To understand how not-useful preseason rankings are, you need only look to last year — No. 3 Penn State lost six straight games in a midseason free fall, and the soon-to-be undefeated Indiana Hoosiers were all the way down at No. 19, despite going 11–2 the previous season. Clemson was ranked No. 6 and received votes from two coaches as the No. 1 team in the country before losing three of its first four games. Preseason rankings are basically meaningless, and attempting to read the strength-of-schedule tea leaves from them is doubly meaningless, if that is even possible.
Thankfully for all of us, the actual football games start soon. In Week 2 of the season, we will get Texas vs. Ohio State, and we can finally put the theoretical football arguments to rest for at least a little bit.
The post ESPN SEC reporter Peter Burns immediately fact-checked on attempted Big Ten critique appeared first on Awful Announcing .
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