Make it make sense: Cignetti's SEC Swipe contradicted by Indiana's cupcake schedule

At Big Ten Media Days, Curt Cignetti defended Indiana's scheduling by taking aim at the SEC. A closer look at the facts tells a different story.

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti knows how to play games during talking season.

The Hoosiers’ second year coach who took his team to the College Football Playoff made his appearance at Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday. On the off chance you haven’t heard or seen what he said, here’s the quote we’ll be dissecting today.

“Look, here’s the bottom line. We picked up an extra home game and we play nine conference games. The two best conferences in college football – any football guy that’s objective will tell you – [are] the Big Ten and the SEC. Twelve of the 16 SEC teams play three G5 or an FCS game. Twelve of those teams play 36 games – 29 G5 games and seven FCS games, and one less conference game. So we figured we’d just adopt [an] SEC scheduling philosophy. Some people don’t like it. I’m more focused in on those nine conference games.”

As a football guy (a self-declared title I’m giving myself), the Big Ten and SEC are the two best college football conferences. No arguments there and I do understand the argument Cignetti is making.

However, context is important. Cignetti gave this answer in response to a question about Indiana cancelling a home-and-home series with Virginia (a school Mississippi State fans are familiar with, at least the baseball fans). [Editor’s Note: The same guy that wrote this story is making that joke?]

All Big Ten teams play nine conference games, leaving just three games for non-conference opponents. SEC teams will play 44 non-conference games in 2025 that will be against Group of 5 or lower teams (see below). SEC teams also have a requirement to schedule a Power 4 conference team each season, which Big Ten teams cover with one more in-conference game.

That would seem to make things even, right? Teams in both conferences play the same number of games against Power 4 opponents (a minimum of nine). So, what’s all the hoopla about?

The answer to that question is the question I would have loved to see Cignetti answer:

“If the SEC schedules weak non-conference opponents, as you suggested in your comments, then why do SEC teams have the 11 hardest schedules based on strength of schedule? And all 16 SEC teams are ranked inside the top 20 whereas the Big Ten only has three teams in that same top 20?”

Since there’s been some social media posts and graphics that are purposely leaving out facts to further their own specific argument, here’s a breakdown of all 16 SEC teams’ non-conference schedules, color-coded by which conference each team plays in:

SEC football teams' non-conference opponents for the 2025 season. | Mississippi State On SI

For the record (that we’ll get to shortly), Indiana’s 2025 schedule is ranked No. 30, behind teams like Northwestern, Rutgers, Minnesota and Purdue.

So, is it because the SEC is better, from the top of the standings to the bottom, than the Big Ten?

Yes, it is.

I’ve already made a couple arguments to support this that you can read here and here. None of my opinions there have changed. Put Mississippi State up against either Northwestern, Maryland or Purdue in game last season and I believe the Bulldogs would’ve won.

To be very blunt about all of this, Cignetti was the wrong Big Ten coach to make this argument about scheduling better non-conference opponents. Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who plays two Power 4 teams and one FCS team next season, is the better candidate to make this argument. Or maybe Ohio State’s Ryan Day is the coach who should’ve made this argument.

Now, to be fair and include all of the facts when others don't, here’s the Big Ten version of the spreadsheet I made of the SEC’s non-conference opponents:

Big Ten football teams' non-conference opponents for the 2025 season. | Mississippi State On SI

Yeah, if your non-conference schedule includes two teams I was genuinely surprised were members of a Group of 5 Conference (Old Dominion and Kennesaw State…don’t lie, one of those surprised you too), and Indiana State, plus a conference schedule that doesn’t include Ohio State, Michigan or USC, you’re the wrong coach to make this argument.

In all seriousness, though, this has been fun. But there’s really only one way to settle the argument of conference supremacy each year, and that’s to start the Big Ten/SEC Challenge series.