Is Curt Cignetti right that Indiana is doing nothing but transitioning to an SEC scheduling model? The Big Ten is closing the talent gap after NIL became legal. Is the next domino about to fall as the Big Ten uses nonconference scheduling to their advantage now? The SEC nonconference schedule has been depicted by some as a gantlet, but is that narrative true? Does the SEC manipulate reality with the help of an eight-game conference schedule and use cupcakes to pad wins, helping teams appear better than they are?
The argument for both conferences centers around how many Power Four or non-Power Four teams each conference schedules. The SEC focused on the number of Big Ten teams that don’t have one Power Four team scheduled. While the Big Ten points to the advantage of playing an eight-game schedule when it comes to scheduling nonconference games.
The media, fans, and the conferences draw a line in the sand when it comes to who plays the tougher nonconference schedule. Is it the Big Ten or the SEC that gains more of an advantage from their nonconference games? Was Cignetti right? Indiana is adopting an SEC scheduling model.
By the Numbers
The SEC, in 2025, will play a total of 192 games this season (128 conference and 64 nonconference). The SEC in/out of conference plays a total of 146 Power Four teams. The other 46 games are against teams outside of the Power Four, making up 23 percent of the games SEC teams play in 2025.
The Big Ten, in 2025, will play a total of 216 games (162 conference, and 54 nonconference). The Big Ten in/out of conference will play a total of 174 Power Four teams. Like the SEC, the remaining games will come outside of the Power Four with those 42 games making up 19.4 percent of the game the Big Ten plays in 2025.
The Big Ten, as a conference, despite having two more teams, plays four fewer teams than play outside the SEC. Florida is the only SEC team since 2022 that has scheduled two teams inside the Power Four each year.
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Comparing Apples and Oranges
The SEC only has one team in 2025 that doesn’t play a Power Four team in the nonconference , while the Big Ten has six. Ole Miss is the only SEC team that didn’t schedule a Power Four opponent in one of their four nonconference games. Indiana, Penn State, Rutgers, Washington, Northwestern and Maryland are the six Big Ten teams that schedule a Power Four team in their nonconference.
Florida, South Carolina and Alabama are scheduled to play two Power Four teams in their nonconference schedules. There is not one Big Ten team that has two nonconference games against Power Four teams. The SEC plays a total of 18 Power Four teams in their nonconference schedule compared to the Big Ten’s 12.
The disadvantage of playing an eight-game SEC conference schedule is that it puts pressure on the SEC teams to schedule at least one Power Four team in the nonconference. The advantage is that it creates an illusion that your nonconference is better than it is. Compare Auburn’s and Indiana’s nonconference schedules. Auburn’s nonconference schedule appears better because of the Baylor game, even through both are playing three non-Power Four teams. Comparing four nonconference games to three is comparing apples with oranges. One extra game can change the entire perception of how a nonconference schedule is viewed.
Comparing Apples with Apples
The Big Ten plays a minimum of nine Power Four teams every year because of its in-conference schedule, unlike the SEC. Ole Miss, in 2025, only plays eight Power Four teams after scheduling Georgia State, Tulane, Washington State and The Citadel. Big Ten teams are at a disadvantage because of their nine-game conference schedule. If they don’t schedule a Power Four team, the nonconference is viewed negatively, and if they do they are forced to play more Power Four games than the SEC.
In 2025, to compare the two conferences’ schedules equally, take out one Power Four game from each SEC team to match the Big Ten’s nine-game conference schedule. By comparing apples to apples, the perception completely changes, making the Big Ten’s nonconference schedule more difficult.
The Big Team has 12 teams that play a Power Four team in their nonconference in 2025, compared to the SEC, which in this scenario would only have three. That puts the SEC at double the number of teams that wouldn’t play a Power Four team in their nonconference compared to the Big Ten. The 13 SEC teams that wouldn’t play a P4 team are Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri, Texas A&M, Florida, Arkansas, Auburn, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and finally Mississippi State team. The six Big Ten teams that don’t play a P4 team are Indiana, Penn State, Rutgers, Washington, Northwestern and Maryland.
In this scenario, the SEC nonconference schedules quickly transform into the same nonconference schedules they criticized other teams for playing. More than 80 percent of the SEC nonconference schedule now look just like Indiana’s.
The hard truth is that both conferences have too many teams that play nonconference schedules that are underwhelming. With millions of dollars at stake by getting teams into the College Football Playoff, the SEC and Big Ten will continue to allow teams to manipulate their nonconference schedules. Both the Big Ten and SEC, with the number of teams in their conferences, should go away from cupcakes and go to a 12-team conference schedule.
