Ad Disclosure
ESPN commentator Sean McDonough took Indiana to task and questioned the notion that the Big Ten is head-and-shoulders above other leagues in college football on Friday during the Hoosiers’ first-round loss to Notre Dame.
Indiana trailed Notre Dame 27-3 at one point in the fourth quarter of the opening game of the College Football Playoff. The Hoosiers went on to lose 27-17 thanks to a pair of late touchdowns.
It was IU’s second game against an AP-ranked opponent this season. And it became IU’s second loss. The Hoosiers also faced Ohio State earlier this year and were thoroughly dominated.
“To be honest, this game’s been a little bit of a dud. I don’t think anybody would deny that,” McDonough said. “There will be a lot of analysis going forward about whether Indiana was worthy of this.”
Frankly, that conversation was happening before Friday night’s game hit halftime.
Hindsight is always 20/20. Indiana won 11 games and plays in the Big Ten conference. It was never going to be left out of a 12-team Playoff. But, to McDonough’s larger point, until there is more consistency with scheduling in an era marked by bloated conferences, the league badge on the uniform shouldn’t carry so much weight on its own that it renders discussions of worth moot.
“I didn’t understand why Indiana wasn’t included in that [SMU vs. Alabama] conversation. I know they were 11-1, but what was it about [Indiana’s] résumé that said they were clearly more deserving than SMU or Alabama?” McDonough asked.
When Greg McElroy claimed the answer had to do with Indiana playing in the Big Ten, McDonough shot back.
“I think they need to lose the assumption that the SEC and the Big Ten are clearly head and shoulders above everybody else, particularly the Big Ten. The SEC has the recent history — Alabama, Georgia. The Big Ten’s won 2 national championships in college football since, what, 2002?”
Michigan won in 2023. Ohio State won it all in 2014. Before that, the Big Ten hadn’t claimed a national championship since Ohio State’s BCS crown in 2002.
Since 2002, the SEC has claimed 13 national championships.
The ACC has more titles (3) than the Big Ten over the last 20 years.
The Big Ten led all conferences this season with 4 Playoff participants. The SEC had 3. The ACC had 2. The Big 12 got just 1 team into the field.
“I just don’t understand why there’s this assumption from many that the Big Ten is so much better than the ACC or the Big 12,” McDonough said. “Not sure what that’s based on. There’s a lot of talk about strength of schedule, well you’re playing each other, so if you just assume our league’s better than everybody else, therefore our schedule is tougher. What if your league isn’t better than everybody else?”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
