Kirk Herbstreit says Big Ten has ‘flexed its muscles’ on the SEC in new CFP era

ESPN analyst explains how the Big Ten grabbed the upper hand in college football this postseason

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

ESPN commentators Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit hardly had much to say about the actual game between Indiana and Alabama for much of the second half. Other than to remark on how impressive, once again, the Hoosiers were in a dominant victory.

At every single challenge they've met, Indiana continues to slam the hammerhead down square on top of the nail with ruthless precision. At least Oregon, Penn State and Ohio State put up fights. Others, like a good 9-4 Illinois team, the Big Ten bottom-dwellers, and now, Alabama, coughed up their own lungs as they gasped for air after having their chest plates kicked in. Yes, Indiana is winning in that graphic of nature against these other power conference college football teams.

From a purely military standpoint, Indiana bullied Alabama in trench warfare, hand-to-hand combat, ground and air attacks, and left the Crimson Tide without their Lt. Colonel after starting QB Ty Simpson went down with an injury. The Hoosiers and their rise is the stuff of Leicester City-type of legend. They could be that rare sports champion who, over this season and last, truly did come out of nowhere to win the whole thing.

But beyond their own story, Indiana and their beatdown of Alabama represent a literal changing of the tide in college football, according to Kirk Herbstreit. For decades, the SEC was pretty unquestionably the top conference in the sport, but in recent seasons through the mid-2020s, that claim is in serious jeopardy. In fact, the Big Ten pretty clearly has the bragging rights right now.

"It has been a tough couple years for the SEC in this new 12-team College Football Playoff, especially against the Big Ten," Herbstreit randomly jabbed in the third quarter of the Indiana-Alabama game. "That’s always a debate between the two conferences." In the 2025-26 postseason, Herbstreit notices the obvious upper hand.

"And the Big Ten — not only Ohio State and Michigan winning the last two titles, but you look at the rest of these bowl games, where the Big Ten, for the most part, has flexed its muscles on the SEC,” he added.

Big Ten chases impressive CFP feat

Ryan Day hoists the College Football Playoff trophy | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa took down a 10-2 Vanderbilt team, Illinois edged out Tennessee in a real barnburner of a contest between two clubs with 8-4 records, and Michigan did lose to Texas. Of course, Oregon beat James Madison and is now in the Final Four with a matchup against Indiana, who just thumped Alabama, guaranteeing the Big Ten a spot in the national championship game for a second straight season.

With this weekend's results, the Big Ten truly is flexing. Bowl results are what they are and most college football fans understand those games can be random, but the College Football Playoff results are a confirmation of the Big Ten's depth up top. Michigan and Ohio State won the last two championships but are already out, yet two other clubs, Oregon and Indiana are two of the remaining four teams playing for the trophy.

Should Indiana or Oregon finish the job, that would be three different Big Ten programs winning three straight national championships, and two in a row to open up this new 12-team playoff era. As Herbstreit said, it's been a tough couple years for the SEC and a good run for the Big Ten.