The Oregon Ducks came into the Big Ten and took control of the conference. However, the Ohio State Buckeyes claimed the National Championship for the conference. Now, ESPN analysts are giving the Big Ten a tip of their cap after the conference claimed back-to-back national titles.
On Tuesday morning, less than 12 hours after the Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship game, ESPN's Paul Finebaum made a bold claim about the Big Ten and the state of college football.
"The Big Ten, at the moment, owns college football. And there's no way you can say it doesn't," Finebaum said. "It's an uncomfortable feeling for the SEC, which has owned the sport. But it's a reality this morning."
"The Big Ten at the moment owns college football."
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 21, 2025
—@finebaum has high praise for the Big Ten 🤩 pic.twitter.com/a7LlhOwi73
Yes, with Ohio State's National Championship win to cap off the 2024-25 season just one year after the Michigan Wolverines won the national title. However, a two-year streak for National Championship wins isn't exactly perennial.
For example, just before Michigan's 2023 national title, the SEC won four consecutive National Championships (2019-22). In fact, since the turn of the century, the SEC claimed 14 national titles while the Big Ten won just four (the same number that the ACC has claimed).
National Championship wins by conference since 2000
- SEC – 14 national titles
- ACC, Big Ten – 4 national titles
- Big 12 – 2 national titles
- Pac-12 – 1 national title (vacated)
So, yes, the Big Ten is on a roll (of two seasons) and the conference has a chance to do what the SEC did over the last 25 years. However, the Big Ten isn't there quite yet and Finebaum may have jumped the gun by saying it is the conference that owns college football.