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Big Ten coach who had an abysmal record in the SEC thinks his team would be ranked in the SEC
Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said his 6-3 team would probably be ranked in the top 15 if it played in the SEC, following a win over Nebraska. His comment adds to criticism of the conference’s standing in the early College Football Playoff rankings, but the article questions whether Illinois would have the same record against an SEC schedule.
Illinois’ wins include Oregon, while its losses came against Purdue, Duke and Ohio State. Bielema went 11-29 against SEC teams during his five years at Arkansas, including an 0-8 start. The article argues that Illinois’s results do not show how it would fare in the SEC, while noting that the Big Ten is having a weaker season and that the CFP committee’s choices were limited.
In short
- Bielema says 6-3 Illinois would be a top-15 SEC team.
- Illinois has lost to Purdue, Duke and Ohio State.
- His Arkansas teams went 11-29 against SEC opponents.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Bielema’s claim can be read as a point about Illinois’s quality and the strength of its wins, particularly against Oregon, rather than a guarantee that every result would carry over to another schedule. If the SEC is being treated as the stronger conference in playoff rankings, it is reasonable to ask whether its teams are receiving more credit than their performances warrant and whether Illinois might be ranked higher there.
The case against
A team’s ranking depends on its full record and schedule, and Illinois’s losses to Purdue, Duke and Ohio State leave room to question how it would fare against a demanding SEC slate. Bielema’s 11-29 record against SEC teams at Arkansas offers relevant context, while differences between schedules make any hypothetical ranking uncertain.