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Greetings from “Can’t Wait For Saturday,” your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He’ll give you his views each day on the game he loves.
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For my money, there is no better place to discuss the relative strengths of college football conferences than social media. If you like that kind of thing.
Following up on a post by longtime college football writer Brett McMurphy on X, which mentioned a seven-page release put out by the SEC, Illinois coach Bret Bielema made some points of his own.
According to McMurphy’s post, the SEC memo noted the “regular-season gauntlet” its teams face.
Sure, Maybe. Kind of.
Great work. Headed into the weekend maybe have this EXTREMELY talented working group look at running the numbers on:
1- the last 2-3 years where legal NIL and portal transfer rules have balanced rosters like never before
2- look at head to head in the same time frame head to… https://t.co/tvGmQOw6aV
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) May 30, 2025
Regular readers of CWFS know I have tremendous respect for the SEC …. except for its unwillingness to play a nine-game league schedule like the Big Ten and Big 12.
Bielema’s comments on X didn’t go there. But he did suggest “running the numbers the last 2-3 years where legal NIL and portal transfer rules have balanced rosters like never before.”
He’s right. And it’s been good for the game, though not as good for the SEC.
Bielema’s final point is to look at the reality of recent matchups. In last season’s College Football Playoffs and bowls, the Big Ten went 4-1 against the SEC, including Illinois’ Citrus Bowl win against South Carolina.
The lone win for the SEC was Missouri’s 27-24 decision against Iowa in the Music City Bowl.
The record can easily be flipped in 2025. But the idea that either conference is vastly superior to the other is wrong. They are going to take turns being at the top in the coming years. Increasing the matchups being the two is a great idea.
Bielema seems to enjoy the banter between the leagues. Remember, he has worked in both, serving at Arkansas between stops at Wisconsin and Illinois.
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