The Big Ten versus SEC wars are heating up as those conferences continue to separate themselves from the rest of the country.
Although the SEC has reigned supreme for most of the 2000s, the Big Ten has now won three straight national titles, while an SEC program hasn't appeared in the national championship since Georgia won in 2022.
However, former Alabama coach Nick Saban isn't quite ready to concede that the Big Ten has passed the SEC from an overall perspective.
"First of all, whoever wins the national championship doesn't define who has the best conference," Saban told ESPN's "Get Up" on Thursday. "I think the best conference gets defined by how many good teams you have from top to bottom, and I think the SEC has a lot of good teams from top to bottom."
Saban - who coached in the Big Ten at Michigan State - did acknowledge that the three straight championship teams were worthy winners.
"I do think the Big Ten has had three really, really good football teams," he said. "Michigan had a great team, beat us in overtime in the playoffs three years ago. Ohio State, Indiana: They had really, really good teams. We continued - last year, we had five teams in the playoffs as an SEC conference, which says that there's pretty good depth in this league."
While the SEC's depth is unquestioned, the Big Ten is producing more than just one elite team per season. The conference went 11-5 in bowl games last season and the SEC's mark was 4-10. The head-to-head record over the past two years also clearly favors the Big Ten, which holds an 8-2 edge on the SEC in bowl games.
The 2026 season won't make fans wait long for more matchups between the marquee conferences, as Week 2 features Oklahoma versus Michigan and Ohio State visiting Texas.
