SEC national championship game drought continues as Ole Miss falls to Miami in Fiesta Bowl CFP semifinal
I've never been a fan of ranking conferences in terms of strength for a couple of reasons. First, college football remains very cyclical. Before NIL and the transfer portal, teams would effectively refresh every 4-ish years. Since those 2 additions, that window is arguably smaller! Until the NCAA and/or conferences figure out a way to bring some order to the "wild west" nature of recruiting that we currently have, dynasty building is going to be hard. Not impossible, though. Players will still gravitate towards proven winners and top-notch facilities.
Second, all conferences have a certain pecking order. Sure, it gets disrupted from time to time, and NIL money could really shake this up as well. In fact, Indiana is a very good example of both points. A perennial underdog in the Big T(eighte)en. The university has no shortage of well-heeled alumni, and some of the have finally been convinced to contribute. This, and hiring Curt Cignetti has resulted in a 2-year turnaround from 3-9 in 2023, to getting knocked out of the CFP in 2024, to #1 CFP seed in 2025!
Third, these teams are all different. They are playing different opponents, with vastly different strengths of schedule, and in different venues in the case of bowl games.
Finally, I don't root for conferences. It's always seemed strange to me. I see people cheering for Auburn or Bama because they, "root for the SEC." Why? I have never cheered for Bama. I don't hate their players or coaches, I just don't root for them. Team allegiance is inherently tribal, but we've taken it way too far. Cheering for a conference just reads to me like really needing something to root for, and I don't want to be that guy. If Auburn isn't playing, and Bama isn't involved in the game, I can usually pick a team to support or just enjoy the chaos that college football can often provide.
Saying "the SEC is a tougher conference than the Big10," or vice versa, is ridiculous. Both have teams that tend to be pretty good, as well as teams that don't. Both have "Cinderella" teams every now and then. In any given year, one or the other will have more tough teams than other conferences, but again that's all very cyclical because that's how college football just is. It's probably the biggest reason I like college ball more than pro. So many unknowns from season to season.
Before anyone comments (like that'll happen in my little echo chamber!), yes I know people think ESPN, and other media outlets, has an SEC bias, and there's certainly some evidence to back that up. I would argue they also have a Big10 bias, an Oregon bias, an FSU/Miami/Clemson bias... the list goes on. They latch on to trends and are often slow to realize when the trends have stopped or slowed. Also, bias is part of college football. It goes back to that historical pecking order of "traditionally" good teams. If you knew nothing about college football but what was available in pop culture, Indiana beating Ohio State at football might sound shocking. If you've been paying any attention to the sport over the last 2-years, it's not that much of a shock.