The latest Big Ten-SEC volley came from SEC Network host Peter Burns, and it didn’t survive long.
After the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll dropped on Tuesday, Burns jumped in with a post aimed at the Big Ten. The poll showed the SEC with nine teams in the Top 25 and the Big Ten right behind with eight, giving Burns a fresh opening in the conference debate. He tried to make the case that all nine SEC teams are scheduled to play at least five other Top 25 opponents this season, while no Big Ten team would do the same.
That part didn’t hold up.
Burns posted: “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”
The community note attached to the post told a very different story. Seven Big Ten teams in the Top 25 are set to face at least five other Top 25 teams this season, and Michigan and Ohio State each have six such games on the schedule.
So the point Burns was trying to land didn’t just miss - it missed badly.
Indiana’s schedule is part of that picture, too. The Hoosiers will face four ranked teams in the USA Today preseason poll: No.
1 Ohio State, No. 14 USC, No.
16 Michigan, and No. 19 Washington.
Indiana gets Ohio State and USC at home, while trips to Michigan and Washington are on the road.
The bigger argument, though, has been settled on the field lately, and that’s where the Big Ten has the edge. The conference has won the last three national titles with three different programs. Over the last three years, Big Ten and SEC teams have met four times in the College Football Playoff, and the Big Ten has won every one of those games.
The league’s CFP record over that span sits at 13-5, and last postseason the Big Ten went 3-1 in head-to-head matchups with the SEC. The SEC, meanwhile, went 5-0 in postseason play.
For Indiana fans, one of the most memorable examples still lingers: the 2026 Rose Bowl, when Indiana beat Alabama 38-3.
And with Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State already sitting among the preseason national championship favorites, the Big Ten has plenty of room to keep making its case this season.
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