Dave Portnoy names 'the best conference in college football'

FOX Sports personality Dave Portnoy added a little fuel to the fire in the debate over college football's top conference with comments on Big Noon Kickoff. Portnoy, famously a backer of his alma mater, Michigan, probably surprised few with his pick for top conference, although the fervor of his comments might be a little more shocking.

Portnoy's point

The Big Ten is the best conference in college football. As much as I don't like Ohio State... Ohio State is very good, Oregon is very good. They'd clearly be the two best teams in the SEC. And then everybody else could beat anybody. Michigan could go win that conference. Illinois could be the best team in the SEC. Indiana could be the best team in the SEC. Penn State could be the best team in the SEC. The SEC-- maybe who's their best team? Vanderbilt? Or Alabama? It's changed. I'm not debating the past-- in the past, it was the SEC. But as we sit here, the last two years, clearly the SEC.
Dave Portnoy

Is Portnoy right?

FOX personality Brandon Walker immediately shot down Portnoy, calling him a "moron" and arguing SEC superiority. But Portnoy's argument does have more than a grain of truth.

Ohio State and Oregon have been arguably the two most dominant teams in the nation so far in the regular season. Indiana is currently slated as a very likely CFP team by ESPN's FPI, so the top of the Big Ten is certainly stout in 2025. Obviously, the league has won the last two CFP titles with Michigan and Ohio State.

To Portnoy's other point, it has been an incredibly up-for-grabs SEC. Alabama and Georgia have already taken early losses. The unbeaten SEC teams still left-- Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss-- were not exactly preseason top picks. Two are underdogs this weekend and may well fall into the ranks of one-loss teams.

SEC partisans would likely cast a dubious eye on Portnoy's comments that Illinois or Penn State could be the best teams in the SEC, but the Big Ten has recent title history, an impressive slate of top teams, and the SEC's unending struggle for supremacy in its own league as potential arguing points all give ammunition for Portnoy's Big Ten backing.