Joel Klatt Says Big Ten Passed SEC, Citing 4-0 Playoff Edge Since 2023

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 3

Joel Klatt argued the SEC can no longer claim to be college football’s top conference, saying Big Ten results since Nick Saban’s retirement have overtaken the league’s old reputation.
A 4-0 Big Ten record against the SEC across the last three playoffs anchors his case, alongside three straight national titles for the conference and no SEC title-game appearance since 2022.
The broader 2025-26 postseason also cut against SEC supremacy: the league went 1-8 in bowls against other conferences and 0-3 in playoff games against other Power 4 teams.
Klatt framed SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s spring-meetings message as propaganda, arguing Alabama’s 2025-26 playoff inclusion showed that league lobbying has already influenced the selection process.
The dispute matters more with a proposed 24-team playoff, where conference strength claims could shape future SEC-Big Ten matchups, bids and national perception.

Sources

Is the Big Ten's recent dominance a short-lived peak, or has the SEC's reign permanently ended?

As the Big Ten and SEC threaten to leave the NCAA, is a new college sports super-league inevitable?

As football's arms race guts other college sports, is the student-athlete model officially dead?