Remarkable AP Poll stat shows difference in quality between certain SEC, Big Ten schedules
By Jake Faigus
Published:
The first official preseason AP Poll was released on Monday afternoon.
The two titans in college football today are the SEC and the Big Ten, and after the Big Ten won the last two national championships, the war has only gotten louder between them.
SEC Network Anchor Peter Burns pointed out the massive strength of schedule discrepancies between the conferences. LSU, Oklahoma, Florida, and Mississippi State are all playing more ranked teams (7) from the AP Poll than Penn State and Indiana combined.
This discrepancy is interesting because it shows that nationally, the SEC still commands more respect from college football media than the Big Ten despite Ohio State and Michigan winning the last two national championships.
The Big Ten has a lot of talent at the top of the conference. Penn State, Ohio State, and Oregon are genuine challengers to win a national championship. Still, the conference does not have the level of depth that the SEC has in the top-25. The SEC put 10 teams into the preseason AP Top 25 while the Big Ten settled for 6.
