Who would win a completely hypothetical SEC vs. B1G Challenge?
At this point, we still have no idea what’s in store for 2020 college football. The amount of games played this season seems to be shrinking by the day, but it’s time to get back to our roots as college football fanatics. One of the major talking points among all the fan bases is the ongoing, never-settled debate on conference supremacy. I just checked the college football fan trash talk record book and at no point has a conference vs. conference discussion changed anybody’s opinion.
The B1G had zero games scheduled against the SEC even before the conference shut down its non-league games, but in this hypothetical scenario, I have created 14. In our fantasy world, the coronavirus ends tomorrow and the college football decision-makers give fans a treat to kick off the season with a B1G-SEC Challenge throughout Labor Day weekend.
Twenty-eight teams. Fourteen games. Two conferences for the ultimate test to see who’s the best.
To pair teams together, I took overall winning percentage from the 2019 season. Tiebreakers were conference record and head-to-head record. If conference records were the same and the tied teams didn’t play each other, I made my own executive decision.
Let the debates begin.
Ohio State vs. LSU
Who wins? Ohio State. The Buckeyes might have the best team and best player in the country in 2020 with Justin Fields gearing up for a Heisman campaign in his second season in Columbus. On the other hand, LSU has lot of moving pieces in a shortened offseason, losing Joe Burrow along with passing game coordinator Joe Brady to the NFL.
Minnesota vs. Georgia
Who wins? Georgia. The Bulldogs should be College Football Playoff contenders with the amount of 4-and 5-star talent on the field. Georgia just added USC transfer quarterback JT Daniels to compete with Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman, so we’ll see how that plays out prior to the season. On the other side, how good do we expect Minnesota to be? Let’s not forget the Golden Gophers were 12-13 under PJ Fleck until last season’s 11-2 breakout season. It’s hard to nitpick an 11-2 season, but Minnesota needed to come from behind late to beat South Dakota State, Fresno State and Georgia Southern, and benefited from a favorable conference schedule.
Penn State vs. Alabama
Who wins? Alabama. Penn State should be a major contender to win the B1G East and be part of the College Football Playoff discussion, but do you want to bet against Nick Saban in a Week 1 matchup? He’s never lost an opener at Alabama. In the past 4 seasons, Alabama won its opening matchup by an average of nearly 35 points, all against Power 5 opponents.
Iowa vs. Florida
Who wins? Florida. The Gators probably have the best returning quarterback in the SEC with Kyle Trask, and Iowa is looking for a new signal-caller after 3-year starter Nate Stanley exhausted his eligibility. The Hawkeyes are one of the constants of college football, but a reload won’t be enough against a talented Florida team ready to contend for the SEC East.
Wisconsin vs. Auburn
Who wins? Auburn. Wisconsin is losing star running back Jonathan Taylor and go-to wide receiver Quintez Cephus, so it’s unclear where the offense will come from. The defense will very likely be the strength of 2020. Auburn is coming off a what-could-have-been season after beating Alabama but losing by 3 points at LSU. For Auburn, the progression of quarterback Bo Nix in big games could decide this one. Remember, in his college debut, Nix led the game-winning drive to beat Oregon in last year’s opener.
Michigan vs. Tennessee
Who wins? Michigan. Yes, Tennessee is a trendy team right now with lots of talented recruits committing, but this isn’t a 2022 prediction article. What have we learned about the Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh? For the most part, Michigan wins the games it should and loses the games it should against elite teams. Is Tennessee an elite team? Not in 2020.
Indiana vs. Kentucky
Who wins? Indiana. These are very similar programs. Basketball schools with football teams on the rise, this would be a very competitive matchup. Both teams turned to backup QBs last season and had success. Both starters are healthy and back this year. I’ll go with the Hoosiers with a ton of returning starters, while Kentucky will begin life without Lynn Bowden Jr., the one-man show for the Wildcats’ offense last season after QB Terry Wilson went down.
Michigan State vs. Texas A&M
Who wins? Texas A&M. This is the most no-brainer choice among all 14 games and would be a blowout. This could be the season the Aggies finally take that next step, while Michigan State is in full-on rebuild mode. The Spartans were not helped by a shortened offseason especially after Mark Dantonio’s late, unexpected retirement. Mel Tucker has his work cut out for him in Year 1.
Illinois vs. Missouri
Who wins? Illinois. Entrenched starting quarterback and an incumbent head coach should be important factors in 2020, especially early in the season. The Fighting Illini probably overachieved last season, but Brandon Peters is back after a solid starting QB with a surprising Lovie Smith squad. As for Missouri, we don’t know who will line up under center for Eliah Drinkwitz, whose only head coaching experience is 1 season at Appalachian State.
Nebraska vs. Mississippi State
Who wins? Mississippi State. Betting against Nebraska has to be one of the most profitable wagers to make in the Scott Frost era. Until the Cornhuskers show any type of success, it’s hard to say they’re beating a mid-level SEC team, even one bringing in a first-year head coach with Mike Leach.
Purdue vs. South Carolina
Who wins? Purdue. The Boilermakers were an incredibly injured team in 2019 and should improve a lot this season, especially with do-it-all playmaker Rondale Moore back after an injury sidelined him for most of the season. As for South Carolina, how many more years are we going to do this with Will Muschamp?
Northwestern vs. Ole Miss
Who wins? Ole Miss. Northwestern should improve a ton from a disaster that was 2019, especially at the quarterback position with incoming Indiana transfer Peyton Ramsey. However, I’ll take Ole Miss and its talented playmakers in John Rhys Plumlee and Jerrion Ealy. Lane Kiffin can’t lose his first game back in the SEC, can he?
Maryland vs. Vanderbilt
Who wins? Maryland. Quite frankly, these teams probably aren’t going to be very good and neither team showed much promise in 2019. A lot can be learned about the future of programs in Year 2 with new head coaches, so maybe Mike Locksley proves he’s the long-term solution at Maryland. Vanderbilt is riding another season with Derek Mason in charge, though plenty of changes were made on the coaching staff, including the offensive and defensive coordinators. The Dores have QB concerns, too. I’ll take the Terps.
Rutgers vs. Arkansas
Who wins? Rutgers. Both teams are in the exact same spot — entrenched as the last-place teams in their conference bringing in new head coaches without much of an offseason. Rutgers should have the coaching advantage here since Greg Schiano proved against all odds it actually is possible to succeed with the Scarlet Knights, while long-time offensive line coach Sam Pittman takes his first head coaching job at Arkansas. Arkansas has the better QB in Feleipe Franks, but that’s assuming Franks is fully healed.
After tallying it all up, the inaugural B1G-SEC Challenge resulted in a 7-7 tie. After more than 1,000 words on an event that won’t happen, we learned nothing as far as conference supremacy.
The debates roll on.
Am fine with the picks except the Kentucky game. Think they will surprise some teams this year, hope it is not Florida (again).
“The Bulldogs should be CFP contenders with the amount of 5 star talent on the field “
You would think so. Each and every year. And yet, they are not.
Less with more, a Georgia thing since 1980
But they have been contenders. The SECCG is a defacto play-in game, which for the last three years they have participated in. Contenders and champions are not the same thing.
When was the last SEC title for Florida? What was the score to the cocktail party the last 3 years?
Nothing but crickets chirping from cojones…enough said.
You guys gotta remember, this is “little cojones”. He’s got nothing to do but whine about the 5 star talent UF doesn’t have, but calms down when you remind him what Kirby et al have done to his beloved Geckos the last 3 yrs.
T R j, Georgia wins more -than florida- with more.
Georgia having more is the way it is. That’s not going to change as long as Kirby Smart’s in Athens and Mullen’s in Florida.
Maybe Florida just needs to hire a coach who can compete on Kirby Smart’s level…
Yesssssirrrr… Oh wait, that’s Sam Pittman! He’s OK though and hope he does well at Arky. Mullen on the other hand, he’ll keep doing less with less.
I’d take Arkansas, USC, and Kentucky.
Wish I could agree, but I dont have confidence in my hogs beating any power 5 teams. 4-20 is hard to shake
Glad to see the faith in Carolina. I’d agree.
Kentucky already beat the Great Penn State, VaTech teams the last two years. This is potentially the best team they have fielded sense 1977. The only Big 10 team that would definitely beat UK is Ohio State. I do not think any Big 10 teams would be a prohibitive favorite over the top 8 teams in the SEC except maybe Ohio State?
You might be underestimating Penn State.
I think he is. Penn State is a different animal when on a roll.
Well I must admit I do not think Penn State is some juggernaut. 2019 played 4 ranked teams and split 2 and 2. 2018- 1 and 3. 2017- 2 and 2. I maintain my op that Penn State would struggle mightily in the SEC. I just can not find recent “ON A ROLL” wins. I still believe they would have lots of trouble with the top 8 or 9 sec schools.
Arky, TN and KY would win.
Mizzou vs. IL tossup, same with Vandy vs Maryland
I would lean towards Nebraska over MissSt
7-7 tie is probably an accurate prediction, but the teams that end up on either side of that 7 might vary from above. As much as I think Nix will have a better year in the SEC than some people think, I’ll take Wisconsin. And I’ll swap that one with Vandy over Maryland. To be fair, there are a lot of toss up matches in there so it would be interesting.
I could see the Auburn-Minnesota matchup going either way. I wouldn’t trust Gus to win it outright, even though I believe Auburn has the better talent.
Yeah I agree about the better talent. Both GA and AU have better talent than both Minn and Wisc, but both Minn and Wisc I feel have better head coaching. Considering that, they should both be pretty good games if they were actually played.
Why are they using last year’s seedings? Should be based on this years rankings:
AL vs OSU, toss up, OSU wins coin toss
GA vs PSU, GA
FL vs MI, FL
LSU vs Wis, LSU
aTm vs MN, aTm
Aub vs IN, Aub
TN vs Iowa, TN
KY vs MSU, KY
Ole Miss vs IL, Ole Miss
Miss St vs Neb, Neb
Mizzou vs NW, toss up to Mizzou
Ark vs Maryland, Ark
SCAR vs Purdue, toss up to Purdue
Vandy vs Rutgers, Vandy
10-4 SEC
I think Penn State would beat Georgia. Just barely though. MSU over Nebraska. SCAR over Purdue
Any prediction for us is an absolute Magic 8-Ball shake at the moment.
Very true.
Ain’t no way they score any more than 13 on our defense.
I can see the logic here. I think, right now UGA/Penn St would be a toss up as would OSU/Bama.
Agree 100%
Give me Minnesota, Miss St, and Maryland.
Kentucky wins.
Auburn depends on which team shows up – the one that wants to play, or the one that goes to bowl games.
That’s the best take I’ve heard all week.
So true.
The matchups should be based on this season’s projections, not last year’s rankings. Other than that, keep guessing.
Cats beat Hoosiers 7 out of 10 with this years team, maybe more. Go CATS!!!
Tennessee and Kentucky would both win their matchup.
Vandy would get destroyed by Maryland and UT would get destroyed by Michigan. Kentucky and Arkansas games could be toss ups.
This is insulting. Last year’s Kentucky would probably win and this year’s Kentucky actually should have a QB. While Lynn was fun, those QB guys are usually good things to have.
Kentucky’s defense would smother Indiana and the cats o-line would have the running game going.
Big problem with Indy vs UK. Kentucky is a dark-horse to win the East. They’d beat Indiana.
Dark-horse to win East? Nah. I can see them ahead of Tennessee but it would take a minor miracle (or Covid sick-out) for them to be in the top two.
I don’t think you know what “dark-horse” means. You say they could finish ahead of UT at 3rd but not too 2. The top 2 are favs and 3-5 could be a dark-horse. Not sure what you’re complaining about? Maybe it’s the thought of UK beating UF? It’s possible.
No one has ever lost a hypothetical game but if you think IU would beat UK, You are In lala land.
Regardless of who would win these 14 games, the real important part of this is that it should become a reality. The SEC and Big Ten should actually do this every year. The SEC and ACC should also do this, and the Big Ten and ACC should do this. Then the P5 teams could still schedule 2 guaranteed home wins in addition to home and road non-conference P5 teams.
OSU by 14
UGA by 10+
Bama by 20+
UF by 10-14
Auburn in a toss-up
Michigan by less than 10
UK by 17+
A&M by 14+
Illinois in a toss-up
Miss St by 7-10
Purdue by 7+
Ole Miss by a lot
Maryland by 10+
Arkansas…maybe??
SEC wins: 9
B1G wins: 5
Good picks.
I’m tired of Gaytor fans talking about “Georgia and 1980.” It’s tiresome.
Let’s look at facts:
-Every SEC Team (even the ones who left- Tulane, University of the South, and Georgia Tech) won SOME conference crown between the time Florida started playing football in 1905 and the first legitimate conference title Florida won under SS in 1991. That means, yes, Tulane, University of the South, Vandy, Mississippi State, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Arkansas (multiple in SWC) won conference titles before Florida- some more than 50 years ahead of Florida.
– Between 1991 and 2008, Florida had a very impressive run of 3 national titles and 8 SEC Titles, but that 17 year period is IT. They’ve done nothing in any other decade of the SEC, which began in 1933.
– Georgia has won 13 SEC titles (tied with Tennessee for 2nd most) and has won them in 7 decades since the 1940s, missing only the 1990s when Florida and Tennessee had big runs. Georgia is an SEC that has always been formidable. Again, Florida had only the 17 year run under 2 hof coaches. Florida doesn’t have that today.
– Yes, Georgia has a TON of 4 and 5 star talent, and they’ve shown that in many games, etc. over the past few years. But they haven’t won the big one….yet. But it really is coming. There is too much talent on the field, and as one poster said, the Gaytors are just upset that they keep losing 5 star IMG players to Georgia because SS and UM used to keep those players in-state. Even Free Shoes U could get them. But OSU, Bama, Georgia, Clemson and others are raiding the state of Florida right now.
Keep crying Florida fans. It won’t get better. You had two hof coaches in 17 years, interspersed with Ron Zook. Your last few coaches have been train wrecks, and your current one will turn out to be one. No Georgia player, fan or coach is afraid of Dan Mullen or your offense or defense. You had a 17 run that is 13 seasons passed. Get over yourselves.
Put two containers side by side with the names of the SEC schools in one and the Big 10 in the other. Have a neutral person pick one from each and those two play. Some interesting matchups would result.
I’m a little biased by I think the SEC wins most of these match-ups, except tOAU – Tigers lost 14 players to the NFL hard to see them rebuilding that much and the Bucks look loaded for bear, I also see Wisconsin taking down Auburn. Vols and Wolverines looks like a toss up. My Wildcats are loaded upfront on both sides and return a deep experienced secondary. WE also get under-rated Terry Wilson back under center and an influx of receiver talent. I think we have a legit shot at the East considering Georgia schedule. Hope everyone is ready to enjoy another great football season (fingers crossed)