Amid ongoing College Football Playoff negotiations and growing calls for a nine-game SEC schedule, coaches from around the country have been quick to share their thoughts on the matter.
According to Brett McMurphy, the SEC’s proposal to the College Football Playoff committee cited the strength of the conference schedule, noting that all but two SEC teams have ranked in the top 50 in Strength of Record (SOR) over the past 10 seasons.
SEC provided 7-page document to media showing the “regular season gauntlet” that SEC teams face in league play. Says SEC: “No other conference has a regular season as grueling as the SEC’s” pic.twitter.com/JRpViQvBzK
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 29, 2025
The message drew plenty of backlash, with many questioning the legitimacy of Strength of Record — and to be fair, that’s a valid argument. Still, it’s hard to deny that the SEC already runs a gauntlet each year, even with just eight conference games on the schedule.
Among the most vocal critics was Illinois head coach Brett Bielema, the former Arkansas coach who’s no stranger to the grind of the SEC.
Great work. Headed into the weekend maybe have this EXTREMELY talented working group look at running the numbers on:
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) May 30, 2025
1- the last 2-3 years where legal NIL and portal transfer rules have balanced rosters like never before
2- look at head to head in the same time frame head to… https://t.co/tvGmQOw6aV
Bielema’s argument definitely has some merit, especially considering the Big Ten’s 6-4 edge over the SEC in head-to-head matchups during the 2024 season.
That didn’t stop Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz from clapping back with a stat of his own.
#MIZ is 2-0 vs big10 n last 2 years 🤷♂️ https://t.co/BmTwaUAYPQ
— Eliah Drinkwitz (@CoachDrinkwitz) May 30, 2025
Missouri has had the last laugh in recent bowl matchups against the Big Ten. The Tigers capped off their 2024 season with a 14-3 win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, then followed it up in 2025 with a 27-24 victory over Iowa in the Music City Bowl.
It’ll be interesting to see how these negotiations unfold, especially with the College Football Playoff seemingly set to expand again in 2026. The big question now: will the SEC and Big Ten lock in a set number of guaranteed spots?