After 2+ decades of the SEC dominating college football, the Big Ten has now taken over. The Big Ten has won three consecutive National Championships with three different programs, and has gone through the SEC to do so.
Over the course of the college football offseason, the rivalry between the Big Ten and SEC has reached a fever pitch. Conference commissioners, analysts, fans, and coaches across the country have all had a lot to say about which conference is the best in college football over the past several months.
But amid all the chatter and debate, the Big Ten currently sits atop the college football landscape—and the AP preseason poll offers plenty of evidence to back that up.
AP poll shows Big Ten plenty of first place love while SEC gets shut out
The Associated Press released its first Top-25 poll of the 2026 college football season earlier this week. The poll gave the Big Ten plenty of ammunition to make its case as the best conference in the country, ahead of the SEC.
Most notably, the Big Ten boasts the Top-2 teams as well as three of the Top-6. Furthermore, zero SEC teams received a single first place vote. It's the first time that has happened since 2015.
In comparison, three different Big Ten programs received first place votes. Ohio State claimed the No. 1 spot with 40 first place votes, while Oregon wasn't far behind at No. 2 with 14 first place votes. The Indiana Hoosiers came in at No. 6 with 8 first place votes of their own. Other first place votes went to Notre Dame (6) and Miami (1).
Big Ten continues to be college football's top conference
With so much change shaping the modern college football landscape, the balance of power in the sport has never been more fascinating. As the start of a new season inches closer and closer, the rivalry between the Big Ten and SEC is only getting more contentious.
Over the past three seasons, the Big Ten has shined brightest when it has mattered most. Big Ten teams are an impressive 13-5 in the CFP as a league over the last three years, which includes a perfect 4-0 record against SEC teams.
Last season, the Big Ten went 3-1 against the SEC in head-to-head postseason matchups. Most notably, Indiana wiped the floor with Alabama in the Rose Bowl, winning emphatically by a score of 38-3. As league, the SEC went just 5-9 in postseason play.
It's clear that the Big Ten has all the bragging rights right now, and that remains true with three of the Top-6 teams in the AP preseason poll hailing from the Big Ten. But preseason rankings only mean so much. What really matters is where these teams stack up at the end of the season. The Big Ten has plenty of talent to go around, and while the SEC is going through a bit of an identity crisis, the Big Ten has to feel good about its chances to staying at the top in 2026.
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