Greg Sankey insists SEC is ‘tough league’ despite Big Ten winning three straight national championships
For most objective fans, it is clear that the Big Ten has surpassed the SEC as the best conference in college football. Just don’t tell SEC commissioner Greg Sankey or conference coaches about the importance of field results. After years of pointing to those exact results.
Sankey, speaking at the SEC’s spring meetings on Wednesday, struck again, again and again, a disdainful, unfair tone. College Football Playoff executive director Rich Clark met with the conference and its coaches this week, explaining the “metrics” that go into the committee’s decision-making and selection process. According to Sankey, it confirmed that the SEC is “a tough league.”
“We’ve seen metrics in the introduction of the College Football Playoff where there’s no doubt we’re a strong league,” Sankey said. “But I think in the big picture, the breadth, the depth of this league – this league stands on its own.”
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey listens to a reporter’s question during the Southeastern Conference Football Kickoff Media Day on July 17, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Nashville in Nashville, Tenn. (Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire)
When discussing the latest results, he repeated the same words. “If you look at our whole league, we are the most competitive, the strongest football league by far,” he told reporters. “But you will lose games when it’s close and competitive like that.”
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The Big Ten has won three national championships in a row, with three different schools. The Michigan Wolverines won in 2024, followed by the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2025, and the Indiana Hoosiers in 2026 at the end of an undefeated season.
As for why that happened, Sankey took an interesting approach. “Then why did they pass us? It’s a strange thing, it went off a few times in the wrong way.”
The interesting thing about that strategy, which says the games were close even if the SEC team ended up losing, is that other teams and conferences have never been able to use this adjustment. Did the ACC get credit when Clemson lost to Alabama 45-40 in 2016? Oklahoma had 507 yards of offense against Nick Saban’s Alabama defense in the 2018 Orange Bowl. Georgia beat Ohio State by one point in the 2022 Peach Bowl after trailing for most of the game. Did the Big Ten or Big 12 get credit for bouncing the ball “the wrong way a few times” in those games? Or was it more evidence of the SEC’s dominance that they finally won?
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti looks on during the College Football Playoff National Championship Game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Jan. 19, 2026. (David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The SEC has failed to reach the championship game for three consecutive years. The Alabama Crimson Tide, the SEC’s second seed, were blown out in the Rose Bowl game, losing 38-3 to Indiana. It wasn’t that close; the Tide had 193 yards of offense and 11 first downs. Alabama’s previously dominant running game produced just 1.4 yards per carry.
Texas A&M lost at home against Miami, scoring just three points at Kyle Field. The SEC overall went 1-8 in bowl games and 0-3 in the 2025-2026 playoffs against other Power Four teams. And Sankey says the league’s “depth” and “breadth” are head and shoulders above the rest. All while the coaches were angry with the committee for not including other SEC teams.
“He’s been at a standstill with all the SEC coaches, a couple who thought he should have been in the (CFP),” new LSU coach Lane Kiffin said. “That probably wouldn’t have been a good meeting for him.”
Suddenly, these results don’t matter, after years of being used to calling the SEC the best conference. Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks was even worse.
Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway catches a touchdown before a snap against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Nov. 29, 2025. (Photos by Matt Pendleton/Imagn)
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“Look, I’m biased,” Brooks said. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the SEC. I was part of the (CFP selection committee) joke many years ago and one of the things that took me back was when people said things like, ‘That was a bad loss,’ or ‘That wasn’t a big win.’
“To me, that’s hard to say when you go to some of these places, especially at night. If you judge Texas by losing to Florida last year and say that’s going to be a big blow to their resume. Yeah, Florida is a really tough team and that’s a really tough place to play.”
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Florida lost at home, in an unimaginably difficult swamp, to…USF. They went 4-8. They fired their coach in the middle of the season. Does anyone involved here have any idea what they are talking about? Do they watch sports? Did they actually think Florida was a good team despite going 4-8 and losing to USF? It is inexplicable.
This is why some conferences have problems with the SEC. They relentlessly promote mediocre teams for the sake of historic brand names, even if the results don’t match the prestige. Iowa was a very good team, by all “metrics,” as Sankey said, but because they’re from Iowa, they’re not treated with the same respect as Tennessee or other SEC teams. As just one example. Crowd support is no match for local product quality.
The SEC will improve itself. That is not surprising. But the Big Ten and other conferences must work to improve themselves as well. Because Kiffin, Sankey, and the rest of these people will continue to influence the committee to put ineligible teams like Alabama in the playoffs because Nick Saban was dominant in the 2010s.
