RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Coaches from the SEC and Big Ten have been sending shots back and forth heading into the 2026 college football season, fueling the debate over the nation's best conference.
Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck weighed in with his thoughts on the debate at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday.
“We play in the greatest conference in the country,” Fleck said, via On3 Sports. “When you look at what we’ve been able to do in the middle of our league, and you look at how strong the middle of the league is, we’ve been playing nine games for a long time. This is not anything new to us, and we’ve been able to still produce three straight national championships with nine-game schedules and people going out of conference in the first three games at times to play SEC opponents, or ACC opponents, or Power 4 opponents.”
The Big Ten has produced each of the last three College Football Playoff national champions: the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers.
Last year, Minnesota finished its season with an 8-5 record — capped off by Rate Bowl victory over the New Mexico Lobos.
The Golden Gophers will begin their 2026 schedule with a matchup against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 3.
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