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Big Ten Commissioner Has Sharp Rebuttal to SEC Narrative
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. During the SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida, last week, those in and attached to the conference continued to argue the SEC was more dominant than the other three Power 4 conferences in college football despite the Big Ten winning the last three national championships.
It's not too surprising then that Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti made the case for his conference's superiority on Tuesday. During the first day of the Big Ten Football Media Days on Tuesday, Petitti noted that the conference has the nation's best wins since the College Football Playoff expanded to a 12-team format in 2024.
"In addition to winning 3 consecutive titles, the Big Ten has dominated 1st 2 seasons of the expanded College Football Playoff. Seven Big Ten teams combined for nation's best 11 wins & 14 of 22 games have featured Big Ten teams," Petitti said , via Brett McMurphy of On3.
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Petitti would be in favor of the Big Ten playing more games against the SEC in the regular season.
"I think it would be great if we played each other more," he said .
Last week, former head coach of Michigan State and Alabama, Nick Saban, argued the SEC could have a better overall conference despite the Big Ten featuring the best team.
"I think the only reason people are talking about this is we dominated for so long, and we were so good, everybody makes a big deal out of being able to beat us," Saban said . "That doesn’t mean they’re better than us, and that doesn’t mean that just because you win the championship that you have a better conference. It just means you have one better team."
The SEC dominated college football for most of this century, but the sport is changing as money flows to athletes in NIL and players are more free to leave in the transfer portal. The SEC used to load up on talent, promising players a pipeline to the NFL if they developed a couple of years before getting a chance to play on Saturdays.
The Big Ten is full of programs that can pool resources to build winners and offer players a chance to immediately compete. As the dynamics have changed, the Big Ten has had more teams that could compete for the national championship, though Texas and LSU appear ready to change that narrative.
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