The Indiana Hoosiers advanced to their first national championship game with a 56-22 victory over Oregon in the Peach Bowl Friday night.
Indiana will face Miami in the title game Jan. 19 in Miami Gardens.
The dominant performance has strengthened arguments that the Big Ten has overtaken the SEC as college football’s premier conference. ESPN analyst Jordan Rodgers explained where he’s seeing this shift across the sport.
“The SEC has had a talent monopoly for a long time, but what I think you’re seeing change is not just the distribution of the top-level talent. Of course, five-star quarterbacks and top receivers are going to other programs in the SEC. But, the SEC always had the best rosters from really 20-40. Not really just the starting 22, but the depth was always five and four stars that were under recruited that were being developed.”
Rodgers pointed to Ole Miss’s playoff loss as evidence of this change.
“That’s where you saw maybe the biggest discrepancy last night, that was Ole Miss didn’t have any depth. Their starting four across the defensive front are really good. But, they had nobody behind them.”
The analyst credited NIL deals with reshaping talent distribution. Previously elite recruits would develop on SEC benches for years. Now they’re transferring to other conferences for immediate playing time and compensation.
“They didn’t really have anybody behind them all year, and I think that’s what you’re starting to see with the SEC and NIL. Those guys aren’t sitting on the bench as four stars and five stars and developing anymore. They’re going to other schools.”
Rodgers acknowledged the Big Ten’s current superiority despite his regular work on SEC Network programming.
“So, I agree. I’m a guy who’s mostly on SEC Network when I talk college football. The Big Ten is the better conference right now. They are. They’ve proven it in the bowl season and they’ve proven it in the Playoffs.”
The SEC’s talent monopoly has essentially ended, according to Rodgers.
“The SEC had a great run. 16 of 17 times they competed for a National Championship, but now, they’ll have been out of it for the last three. The Big Ten is taking that crown, and it’s not just the Playoffs. It’s the bowl games and the distribution of talent.”
The Big Ten has won the past two national championships.
Indiana’s championship appearance represents the conference’s depth beyond traditional powers like Ohio State and Michigan. The Hoosiers transformed from a perennial bottom-feeder into a title contender in one season.
If Indiana wins the national championship, it would give the Big Ten three consecutive titles and further cement the conference’s current dominance.
