While Big Ten holds down top two spots in AP preseason Top 25, SEC finds strength in numbers
The push and pull between the Big Ten and Southeastern sonferences only grows stronger with the release of the preseason Associated Press Top 25 . Having…
In the latest preseason Associated Press Top 25 rankings, the Big Ten conference leads with Ohio State and Oregon taking the top spots, while the Southeastern Conference demonstrates its depth with five teams in the top 10 and seven in the top 13. The SEC’s strength is highlighted by having seven different teams appear in the College Football Playoff since 2024, compared to only four for the Big Ten.
The SEC also marks a historic first, as no team received a first-place vote for the preseason poll since 2015, when Ohio State was unanimous. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti expressed his desire for more rivalries between the two conferences, noting the growing push and pull between the Big Ten and SEC. Notably, the upcoming games of September 12, where Oklahoma visits Michigan and Ohio State travels to Texas, are rematches of home-team victories from last season.
While the Big Ten finished 4-3 in head-to-head matchups against the SEC last season, with Indiana’s dominant 38-3 win over Alabama in a CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl standing out, the SEC’s efficiency has led to seven programs ranking below the lowest SEC-ranked team, according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s SP+ ratings.
Written by urgent.news from Associated Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
