Indiana has made it three straight national championships for the Big Ten. Nick Saban took a shot at the Big Ten in the pre-game show, but it was the conference that got the last laugh on Monday night. After the game, Curt Cignetti and other Big Ten officials flexed on the SEC.
“I think it's called paradigm shift. It's kind of like people can cling to an old way of thinking, categorizing teams as this or that of conferences as this or that, where they can't adjust to the new world,” Cignetti said after the Indiana victory, according to Ralph Russo of The Athletic.
There has been a shift. The last three FBS Champions have come from a 300-mile radius, all centered around the Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana borders. Meanwhile, five of the last six teams to play for a National Championship have been northern teams. Wahsington played against Michigan for the 2023 title. They were then a Pac-12 team and now are in the Big Ten. Last season, it was Notre Dame, another team from Indiana, facing Ohio State. This year, Miami was the first time since the 2022 season that a southern team played for the title.
“It’s unbelievable. It means so much for Indiana, but it means a lot for the entire league. What Indiana has done in two years, I’ve never seen anything like it in all of the years I’ve been in sports,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said of the Indiana victory, per Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.
“I feel like we’re just getting started.”
The conference may be just getting started. The SEC has owned the CFP era. In the first year of the CFP, Ohio State defeated Oregon. From the 2015 season through the 2022 season, a team from the SEC played for or won the national championship every year. The only losses for the SEC were both losses to another southern school, Clemson, and both by Alabama. Overall, the SEC had ten finalists in an eight-year span. Since then, it has been zero.
The last time the Big Ten could claim three straight titles was from 1940 to 1942. Minnesota took a share of the title in 1940 and 1941. Ohio State took a share in 1942.
The conference should be in a solid spot to claim a title again next year. Indiana is likely to be a top team, while Ohio State may enter as the preseason favorite. Meanwhile, Oregon, USC, and Michigan will all be clamoring for a spot to claim a title as well.
