The latest shot from SEC media at the Big Ten didn’t land the way it was supposed to.
After the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll came out Tuesday, SEC Network host Peter Burns jumped into the conference debate with a post aimed at the Big Ten. His point was simple: the SEC had nine teams in the Top 25, and Burns said all nine would play at least five other Top 25 teams this season. He also claimed no Big Ten team would face five Top 25 opponents.
That’s where it went off the rails.
A community note attached to Burns’ post made clear that seven Big Ten teams in the Top 25 will play at least five other ranked teams this season. Michigan and Ohio State will each face six Top 25 opponents. So the argument Burns was trying to make didn’t just miss - it missed badly.
Indiana is one of the Big Ten teams with a demanding slate. The Hoosiers will play 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 the trips to Michigan and Washington come on the road.
The poll itself showed how tight the race is between the two leagues, with the SEC placing nine teams in the Top 25 and the Big Ten right behind with eight. But the back-and-forth talk doesn’t change what’s happened when these conferences have met on the biggest stage.
The Big Ten has taken the last three national titles, and those runs have come through SEC opponents. Over the last three years, Big Ten and SEC teams have matched up four times in the College Football Playoff, and the Big Ten has won all four. Across that same span, the Big Ten is 13-5 in the CFP as a league, while the SEC went 5-0 in postseason play last year.
Big Ten fans have also had one result burn itself into memory: Indiana’s 38-3 win over Alabama in the 2026 Rose Bowl.
With Indiana, Oregon, and Ohio State already listed among the preseason national title favorites, the Big Ten’s edge over the SEC doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon.
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