By Mark Pszonak
While the Big Ten and SEC are far and away the most powerful conferences in college football, there has been occasional in-fighting between the two as they continue to jockey for the top position. That has accelerated recently with ongoing discussions regarding the potential expansion of the College Football Playoff.
One Big Ten coach, who is never bashful, shared his thoughts on Tuesday. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was critical of SEC schedules.
Bret Bielema, speaking at Illini night at Wrigley: “I don't think there's any way we can do a 16-team playoff if they're (the SEC) not at nine (conference) games, right? So we voted unanimously as Big Ten coaches to stay at nine and actually maybe have an SEC Challenge. I was… pic.twitter.com/jRIqGu98WO
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) June 17, 2025
Coach Bielema has a point that the SEC and Big Ten should be playing an equal number of conference games. Having the SEC fatten up on another out-of-conference game against Sun Belt and Conference USA opponents, while a Big Ten team travels to Ann Arbor, Columbus, Eugene or Happy Valley, doesn’t create a level playing field.
Plus, with Illinois defeating South Carolina in last season’s Citrus Bowl, Coach Bielema has some extra leverage that he is always happy to use. Expect more similar discussions in the coming weeks as the off-season trudges along.
