SEC Daily: Big Ten Coach Fires Shot at SEC Schedule

One prominent power conference coach had something to say about the SEC and its scheduling.

Jul 22, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

After last week’s SEC Media Days, the Big Ten and ACC had their turn at facing the media for questions. Coaches from both conferences previewed their teams’ seasons and gave their thoughts on the current landscape of college football.

Two shots were fired against the SEC during Big Ten and ACC media days: scheduling and playoff expansion.

In a question to Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti about the recently cancelling a home-and-home series with Virginia, Cignetti took a shot at the SEC scheduling as his reason why the series was canceled.

“The two best conferences in college football, any football guy that's objective will tell you is the Big Ten and the SEC. Twelve of the 16 SEC teams play three G5 or an FCS game. 12 of those teams play 36 games, 29 G5 games and seven FCS games, and one less conference game,” Cignetti said.

“So we figured we would just adopt the SEC scheduling philosophy.”

Cignetti is right about the fact that the SEC plays just eight conference games compared to nine in the Big Ten as well as the fact that plenty of SEC teams play at least one FCS opponent each year.

However, the SEC has gotten more involved with scheduling tough nonconference opponents to start the season. Last season, Vanderbilt played Virginia Tech the first game of the 2024-2025 season and will play at the Hokies on Sept. 6 this season.

Last season, Indiana’s nonconference opponents were FIU, Western Illinois (who is in the FCS) and Charlotte. This fall, the Hoosiers play Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State, which is another FCS school. 

Contrast that to some of the nonconference games the SEC is involved in this season. Auburn kicks off its season at Baylor, Tennessee will take on Syracuse in Atlanta, Alabama will play at Florida State, LSU will play at Clemson and Texas will travel to Ohio State on opening weekend.

Additionally, Oklahoma will host Michigan and Missouri will reignite its rivalry against Kansas the second week of the season and Alabama plays host to Wisconsin and Texas A&M visits Notre Dame in Week 3.

So, while the debate on whether the SEC should follow suit with the Big Ten and add a ninth conference game is still up for conversation. But Cignetti’s notion that the SEC does not play anybody until conference play is not fully correct. 

SEC teams like Vanderbilt, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, Ole Miss Auburn are among the teams that join Indiana amongst the easiest nonconference schedules this season, but Florida has one of the hardest nonconference schedules that features a date at Miami and a game against Florida State.

All 16 SEC teams are ranked in the top 20 nationally in strength of schedule heading into this season according to ESPN analytics. Granted, all teams play each other for eight games throughout the season. 

But all 16 teams in the conference being among the hardest schedules in the nation despite having one less conference game than Big Ten teams is something worthy of note.