After Alabama was blistered by Florida State in Week 1, Nick Saban suggested the SEC’s longtime advantage might be eroding in the NIL era.
“That geographic advantage the Southeastern Conference had is maybe changing a little bit now with a different culture, with name, image and likeness and money involved in decision-making,” Saban said. “I think that’s created a little bit of an edge for the Big Ten.”
The early-season data tells a more complicated story.
SEC still stacking wins
Through Week 3, the SEC owns a 35-3 (.921) record in non-conference play — the second-best winning percentage by a power conference through Week 3 this century. Only the 2014 SEC (27-2, .931) was better.
The league has also stacked talent at an unmatched level: five of the top 10 and 14 of the top 25 in the 247Sports Team Talent Composite compared to three and six respectively for the Big Ten. The SEC has placed at least 10 teams in the Top 25 of 247Sports’ recruiting rankings every cycle since 2021.
That success underscores that the conference hasn’t lost its grip on recruiting-rich territory. But Saban’s comments point to the financial arms race that could reshape the sport in the years to come.
Big Ten’s money play
As CBS Sports’ John Talty has reported, Big Ten programs have begun to leverage unmatched financial resources. Michigan’s Champions Circle collective thanked Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and his wife Jolin for their role in flipping No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood, a coup that fit Jim Harbaugh’s long-held belief that wealthy Wolverines backers could tilt the scales once NIL went mainstream.
The Big Ten’s weaponization of clean cash — and lots of it — is shifting power dynamics from South to North
John Talty
Ohio State, meanwhile, spent more than $20 million last year year to retain stars like Jack Sawyer and Emeka Egbuka while supplementing the roster with targeted transfers including Caleb Downs and Quinshon Judkins. The Big Ten’s $7 billion media rights deal — which will eventually pay each school around $100 million annually — dwarfs the SEC’s projected $75 million payout. That gap, paired with alumni bases that rank among the country’s largest, has allowed the Big Ten to chase talent in ways that once seemed out of reach.
Alabama’s transition
Saban’s own program illustrates why he raised the issue in the first place. Under Kalen DeBoer, Alabama has struggled in areas that were once non-negotiables under Saban. The Tide are 2-5 in road or neutral games since his arrival, after Saban went 98-20 in those spots from 2007–23. They’ve been outrushed in half their games under DeBoer (compared to just 19.6% under Saban), and in their five losses the rushing margin has ballooned to minus-119.6 yards per game. Alabama is also just 2-5 when failing to win the turnover margin, compared to 9-0 when it does.
That contrast was on display early this season. In Week 1, Alabama was bullied on the ground by Florida State — a loss that gave fuel to Saban’s point about the SEC’s slipping edge. Two weeks later, the Tide overwhelmed Wisconsin, showing the high ceiling still present in a roster ranked No. 2 in the Talent Composite.
Shifting balance, or same story?
The SEC as a whole continues to dominate non-league competition and talent acquisition, and the early results suggest its geographic and recruiting edge remain intact even as Big Ten programs flex their financial muscle. Still, it is more than notable that the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the current 247Sports rankings belongs to USC as one of four Big Ten programs in the top 10. Would a third consecutive national championship for the Big Ten fully flip the “best conference” narrative? Perhaps, but it’s unlikely the SEC is going to surrender its title of the most talented.
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