Jordan Rodgers Names the Best Conference in College Football Ahead of 2026 Season

ESPN analyst Jordan Rodgers has opined in the debate over which college football conference is the strongest entering the 2026 season.

Jan 8, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; ESPN personality Jordan Rodgers during 2026 Fiesta Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Prominent college football figures have engaged in an impassioned debate about whether the SEC or the Big Ten is the stronger football conference all summer long.

Former Vanderbilt quarterback and ESPN college football analyst Jordan Rodgers is the latest pundit to weigh in on the debate between the SEC and Big Ten. Rodgers acknowledged the Big Ten's recent success on ESPN's "Get Up", but he still believes the SEC is the strongest conference in college football.

"This conversation gets convoluted because the Big Ten has had the most success recently with national championships, no doubt," Rodgers said. "The best league, to me, you have to look at who's the deepest, who has the most talent, who has the most teams that can actually compete for a national championship, and that's still the SEC."

The crux of Rodgers' case for the SEC is the recency bias surrounding the Big Ten's superiority narrative. Rodgers pointed to the results the SEC has compiled since the inception of national championship games, which are far stronger than those of the Big Ten.

"It's easy for the Big Ten to say that now with the last three national championships. The SEC, within the last 20 years, has won 13 national championships with five different teams," Rodgers said.

"So history tells us that the SEC is still the deepest; they still have the most talent. I think there's five rosters in the SEC that can compete for a national championship, and I don't think you can say that past three in the Big Ten."

What is the best assessment for conference depth in the SEC and Big Ten?

Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) tackles Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the first half of the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

There are occasional exceptions, but most of the meetings between SEC and Big Ten programs are limited to the postseason.

Over the last three seasons, the national champions from the Big Ten faced a combined four SEC programs in the College Football Playoff. Ohio State met two SEC teams on its run in 2025, and Michigan and Indiana both defeated Alabama en route to national championship victories.

Oregon and Penn State, the league's other two College Football Playoff participants in the run, have not battled an SEC program in at least three seasons. The Nittany Lions lost a Peach Bowl to Ole Miss three years ago, and the Ducks lost 49-3 to Georgia in Dan Lanning's first game on the job.

Opt-outs have tainted the merit of bowl games in this discourse. There are results like Iowa's win over Vanderbilt in the 2025 Outback Bowl and Illinois' win over South Carolina in the 2024 Citrus Bowl that warrant attention, but results like Missouri's win over Ohio State in the 2023 Cotton Bowl seem illegitimate because of opt-outs.

Luckily, there are three matchups between the Big Ten and SEC in the second week of the 2026 regular season: Ohio State at Texas, Oklahoma at Michigan and Mississippi State at Minnesota. The first two matchups are between programs expected to finish near the top of the conferences, but the third should be a great litmus test for the depth of each conference.