Bruce Pearl isn’t only an SEC spokesman when it comes to college basketball. During an appearance on the Gary Parrish Show Monday, the Auburn head coach defended SEC football while taking a jab at the Big Ten.
“Top to bottom, Big Ten football is not as strong as the SEC,” Pearl said. “Go to Mississippi State when they’re having a bad year, and half your kids are in the hospital when you leave the game. It is every single night. I thought our SEC football teams were exhausted.
“Now, you’re at Ohio State, or you’re at Penn State — two teams that got deep into the playoffs… They only had two or three games on the entire schedule that were like about seven or eight games for Ole Miss or Alabama or Auburn, or any of the SEC teams. And I think those football guys were exhausted.”
Most SEC teams had a stronger strength of schedule than Big Ten teams due to the depth of the conference. Nonetheless, the Big Ten ultimately had the last laugh, with Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon each finishing within the top five of the final AP Top 25.
Most importantly, the Buckeyes brought home the national championship to the Big Ten. It’s the second year in a row a Big Ten program has won the national title, with Michigan winning it all the previous year.