Eli Drinkwitz slams Big Ten scheduling when asked about conference’s 3 straight national titles
By David Wasson
Published:
One of the signature achievements Big Ten football programs and their fans point to in recent seasons has been that the overstuffed conference has captured the last three College Football Playoff national championships.
And while it is not contested that Michigan (2023), Ohio State (2024) and Indiana (2025) all hoisted the shiny hardware at the end, at least one SEC coach is taking aim at how the Big Ten is able to be so good down the stretch.
Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, who also tried his hand at stand-up comedy by throwing barbs at Kansas during Day 1 of SEC Media Days on Monday in Tampa, contested that teams like the Wolverines, Buckeyes and Hoosiers all became champions because of their less-than-strenuous scheduling tactics.
Drinkwitz asserted that part of the reason the Big Ten won those titles is this: “When you don’t play a (non-conference) A4 game”, apparently a shot at Indiana’s 2025 slate that included Old Dominion and Kennesaw State, Ohio State’s 2024 non-conference tests against Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall, and Michigan’s 2023 early run that featured East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green.
It should be noted that Mizzou’s 2025 slate included the likes of Central Arkansas and Massachusetts en route to an 8-5 record and a loss to Virginia in the Gator Bowl. Missouri’s four regular-season losses all came to Top 10 SEC teams.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
