Pipe down, SEC: The Big Ten has a strength-of-schedule argument now (says USA Today’s Matt Hayes)
Pipe down, SEC: The Big Ten has a strength-of-schedule argument now (says USA Today’s Matt Hayes)  
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Published On: Fri Aug 21 2026
Description: -That was the headline from Matt Hayes’ recent column for USA Today, saying that the SEC scoffs at Ohio State’s “tough schedule” bymocking the likes of Illinois and Iowa being ‘tough’ games---how the SEC fans conveniently forget that Iowa rolled Vanderbilt last yearin a bowl game and Illinois has beaten South Carolina and Tennessee in back-to-back years in the postseason-No one says the SEC isn’t tough---it certainly is and still might be a tougher conference overall than the B1G---but it’s not somethingthat is just a given like it was in years past. The B1G has 8 teams ranked in the preseason Top 25---the SEC has 9 teams…Our Sponsors:* Check out Progressive: https://www.progressive.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy