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Stryker Pregame Perspective: What's the Top Conference? Husker Fans Weigh In

A survey of several dozen Nebraska fans ahead of Saturday's game against Michigan State finds a shift to the north from four years ago.
Tad Stryker|
Oregon's entrance gives the Big Ten another marquee name.
Oregon's entrance gives the Big Ten another marquee name. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Nebraska CornhuskersMichigan State Spartans

Four years ago, I asked Husker fans which major college football conference is the best of them all. I thought it was time to revisit that question.

So on a hot, windy Saturday before Nebraska hosted Michigan State, I asked 55 of them to rate the major college football conferences from best to worst. As I did four years ago, I assigned three points for a first-place vote, two for second and one for third.

SEC football
The SEC won the Husker fan survey for best conference four years ago but slipped to second place this year. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In my previous survey, the Southeastern Conference scored a narrow victory over the Big Ten, despite the inherent local bias of Nebraska being a Big Ten member. There was a definite shift this time around.

After winning the last two College Football Playoff titles, the Big Ten won this survey, getting 41 of the 55 first-place votes. The SEC was second, and the Big 12 and ACC remained in third and fourth, respectively, as they were in my 2021 survey.

It’s worth noting that four years ago, the SEC had seven teams among the top 25 in the Associated Press poll, and the Big Ten had five. This week, the SEC had 10 (including five in the top 10) and the Big Ten had six (including four in the top 10).

The Big Ten prevailed in the highest-profile game this season involving teams from the top two conferences, with Ohio State beating Texas, 14-7, on Aug. 30.

The survey’s final totals:
   • Big Ten, 151 points
   • SEC, 122 points
   • Big 12, 34 points
   • Atlantic Coast Conference, 23 points

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Tad Stryker
TAD STRYKER

Tad Stryker, whose earliest memories of Nebraska football take in the last years of the Bob Devaney era, has covered Nebraska collegiate and prep sports for 40 years. Before moving to Lincoln, he was a sports writer, columnist and editor for two newspapers in North Platte. He can identify with fans who listen to Husker sports from a tractor cab and those who watch from a sports bar. A history buff, Stryker has written for HuskerMax since 2008. You can reach Tad at tad.stryker@gmail.com.

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