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Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti: ‘It would be great’ if Big Ten, SEC played more games
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The Big Ten and SEC are set to face off just 3 times this upcoming regular season. Ohio State is set to travel to Texas, Oklahoma will face Michigan in the Big House and Mississippi State will face Minnesota in Minneapolis, all in Week 2. Meanwhile, the SEC is set to face the ACC 9 times and the Big 12 4 times.
Of course, these numbers do not include the College Football Playoff or bowl season.
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, who spoke Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days, said that he’d like to see the number of matchups between the two best conferences in football increase.
As it currently stands, the Big Ten does not require its programs to face at least one P4 non-conference opponent each season, unlike the SEC, ACC and Big 12. But seeing as the SEC recently moved to a 9-game conference schedule, it makes sense that the conference would rather face the ACC and Big 12, both considered weaker conferences than the Big Ten, with precious spots in the College Football Playoff on the line.
When asked Tuesday if the Big Ten would consider adding a P4 requirement like the SEC, Petitti said the following: “Our focus is seeing clarity on the playoff & access to the playoff before we make that decision.”
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.