Kirk Herbstreit: ‘No debate’ between SEC vs. Big Ten for 2025 college football season

Kirk Herbstreit speaks on the set of ESPN College GameDay | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Conference superiority is always one of college football's enduring debates, and the 2025 season has brought no change on that front. Of course, in the modern era, it's the SEC and Big Ten bickering over which league is truly on top. After two straight championships from their league, the Big Ten may believe they have the top spot, but ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit simply disagrees.

On a Monday morning YouTube live stream alongside fellow college football analyst Joey Galloway, Herbstreit fielded a question from a commenter: Which league, the Big Ten or SEC, is better from top to bottom right now? Herbstreit could hardly believe his expertise was required to answer such a query.

"I thought that was a trick question," he responded. "There’s no debate in that at all. We’d like for there to be a debate. There's not." A very definitive answer from Herbstreit, and Galloway was in lockstep.

"We would love for there to be a debate," he added. "In past seasons, there was a bit of a debate. But this season..." he trailed off as Herbstreit explained that when it comes to the commenter's question, of top to bottom, the SEC does have the clear edge.

Herbstreit, Galloway like bottom of SEC better than B10

Oklahoma's Sammy Omosigho (7) celebrates a sack | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I think what happens is top to bottom," Herbstreit emphasized. "Like the middle and the bottom of the SEC — different. It’s different." Meanwhile, Galloway added: "They don't respect the bottom. They're not looking at the bottom."

Galloway continued, noting that yes, the Big Ten is elite at the top, but fans need to look deeper to understand the full strength of a conference.

"They’re looking at Ohio State, Indiana Oregon. You got three top 10 teams at the top," Galloway noted, as Herbstreit added that Michigan and USC are also viable contenders. "But then your bottom your bottom falls out."

At the bottom of the SEC, a team like Kentucky is surging now, Mississippi State has a nice non-conference win over Arizona State and has been a challenging out, while Auburn seems to play every single opponent on their schedule down to the wire, one way or another.

"They’re not looking at the bottom of the SEC," says Galloway. "We’re just talking about like Mississippi State. They’re near the bottom, but it’s not an easy win. Auburn is near the bottom, but it’s not easy."

Meanwhile, in Big Ten country, there exist some fairly stress-free wins with teams like Purdue, Michigan State or even Penn State — all who are still winless in league play with just a few weeks to play.