playBill ConnellySep 11, 2026, 07:01 AM ETCloseBill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsWhich conference is better, the Big Ten or SEC? I got asked that question more than ever this offseason, and I patented a pretty consistent response: For nearly 20 years, the SEC demanded that you judge it by its titles, and by that standard the Big Ten is clearly superior — it has won the past three, after all, and with three different teams.
If that’s all that matters, crown the Big Ten.Of course, in the current AP top 25, the SEC also has seven of the top-12 teams and 11 of the top 22. Last year, three Big Ten teams were better than the best SEC team per SP+, but seven Big Ten teams were also worse than the worst SEC team. The Big Ten is a top-heavy league with quite a bit of dead weight, though the SEC is a parity-heavy league that produces endless close games, loads of CFP contenders and, for the past couple of years, no genuinely elite teams.This can be a pretty fun debate because you see whatever answer you want, but we’ll all have the same temporary answer Saturday night because Week 2 is basically giving us a three-game Big Ten-SEC Challenge: No. 11 Oklahoma at Michigan to start the day, followed by a Mississippi State-Minnesota interlude and the Saturday evening headliner, No. 1 Ohio State at No. 4 Texas.It’s a best-of-three for bragging rights! And it’s not all that Week 2 has to offer.
We also get old-school rivalry games (Missouri at Kansas, Iowa State at Iowa), a high-stakes Group of 6 matchup (Memphis at Boise State), huge early-season conference tests for two top-15 teams (Alabama and BYU) and several other Big 12 prove-it games.Here’s everything you need to follow in a loaded and narratives-heavy Week 2.The Big Ten-SEC ChallengeThis is a nicely balanced set of three games. The Big Ten has home-field advantage in two, but the SEC team is favored in two. Per SP+ projections, there’s a 64% chance that the SEC wins at least two of three. The SEC teams definitely need wins more, though, because of general conference insecurity and many more challenges await.Based on this week’s SP+ ratings, the SEC has 10 of the hardest 11 full-season schedules and 14 of the top 17.
The median SP+ SOS ranking in the SEC is 9.5. In the Big Ten, Michigan’s schedule ranks sixth, followed by 12 more teams between 12th and 30th. Because the middle and bottom of the SEC are so much stronger, and because the league just moved to nine conference games — a necessary step to feeling like a conference (and creating more big-game inventory) — the difference is still pretty stark.Texas will face five more current SP+ top-15 teams after the Ohio State game Saturday night; the Longhorns’ SOS ranks second behind Arkansas, while Oklahoma’s comes in at fourth. (Ohio State’s, for what it’s worth, is a solid 12th.) A 1-1 start could be pretty damaging, considering what’s still to come.No. 1 Ohio State at No. 4 Texas (7:30 p.m., ABC)Stars alone don’t a team make, but in our preseason CFB Player Rank, Ohio State and Texas combined to have six of the top-15 players in the country. Ohio State had WR Jeremiah Smith (No. 1) and QB Julian Sayin (No. 8), while Texas boasted DE Colin Simmons (No. 3), LT Trevor Goosby (No. 12), QB Arch Manning (No. 13) and WR Cam Coleman (No. 15).Aside from perhaps Simmons, everyone looked the part in comfortable Week 1 wins.
Sayin went for 320 yards and three TDs, and Smith caught eight balls for 151 yards and two of the scores. Manning, meanwhile, leaned on Coleman and returnee Ryan Wingo to throw for 305 yards and four TDs (and one interception).Smith’s first touchdown might have been the most casually brilliant play of the weekend.In a millisecond, Smith caught a deflected ball, switched it to his other hand and then basically showed it off to the ref and the crowd as he was going to ground. His and Sayin’s excellence — plus a lovely debut from UTSA transfer receiver Devin McCuin — distracted from a run game that produced just 46 yards in the first 16 non-sack carries before Bo Jackson broke a long one.Texas’ run game had similar results, only in reverse: Hollywood Smothers’ first carry gained 45 yards, but the next 20 for Smothers and Raleek Brown picked up just 61.Defense defined last season’s game, and with both of these units taking on significant change this offseason, the better defense might carry this one. Ohio State returns only three starters, but edge rusher Kenyatta Jackson Jr., corner Jermaine Mathews Jr. and safety Jaylen McClain should all remain parts of an excellent pass defense, and freshman nickel Jay Timmons was dynamite against Ball State.Texas’ changes were more voluntary.
Despite an average defensive SP+ ranking of 13.8 over the past four seasons, Steve Sarkisian replaced defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski with veteran Will Muschamp. Sarkisian added three key transfers as well: linebackers Rasheem Biles and Justin Cryer and corner Bo Mascoe. Biles was great against Texas State, recording a run stop, a forced fumble and an interception, but the Longhorns gave up 225 first-half yards before settling in.Texas’ defense was easily the shakiest unit here, but that was last week. The season starts Saturday.
This is the first of 20 regular-season games between teams currently in the SP+ top 15. Let’s get it on.Current line: Horns -1.5 | SP+ projection: Buckeyes by 2.0 | FPI projection: Horns by 3.4No. 11 Oklahoma at Michigan (noon, Fox)Only one team fell out of the AP top 25 this week: Your 1-0 Michigan Wolverines, who dropped 12 spots after what was technically a win but sure didn’t feel like one. Their offense disappeared for most of 55 minutes against Western Michigan, and former blue-chip quarterback Bryce Underwood couldn’t have looked more lost. Head coach Kyle Whittingham didn’t exactly offer a roaring defense of Underwood, saying, “He’s our QB right now.
It’s not something that’s infinite. At some point, we’ve got to turn a corner, and we’ve got to see improvement.”Through the years, talented teams have responded with vigor to Week 1 duds. Maybe that’s possible with Michigan, especially because the defense was mostly excellent, allowing 3.3 yards per play and only two drives over 30 yards. If the Wolverines can keep Oklahoma’s offense in check, they wouldn’t need that much offensive competence to pull an upset.As good as WMU’s defense looked, however, OU’s is better.
So is the Sooners’ offense, even if we don’t yet know if Oklahoma’s run game has improved from last season. Quarterback John Mateer looked great against UTEP, throwing to Isaiah Sategna III and newcomers Trell Harris and tight end Rocky Beers, but primary backs Lloyd Avant and Xavier Robinson gained merely decent 109 yards in 22 carries and will likely find the running lanes far more cluttered in Ann Arbor.Current line: OU -5.5 | SP+ projection: OU by 7.0 | FPI projection: OU by 5.0Mississippi State at Minnesota (3:30 p.m., CBS)Will Michigan-Oklahoma be intense, physical and important? Absolutely. Will it be aesthetically pleasing?
Lord, no.That’s fine because while Mississippi State-Minnesota probably won’t be as important, it could be fun as hell from a styles-make-fights perspective. Minnesota is generally a fixture near the top of the defensive SP+ rankings — the Gophers have been in the defensive SP+ top 15 for four of the past seven seasons and are currently 20th — and Mississippi State has one of the most tantalizing young quarterbacks in the country.play2:18Kamario Taylor on how MS State’s unified offense can be a threat soonSophomore Kamario Taylor is an eye-popping athlete who threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns, plus a 26-yard touchdown run, against UL Monroe. ULM’s defense isn’t good, but the Bulldogs averaged 9.7 yards per play, carving through the Warhawks as if they were a low-level FCS opponent.Minnesota, meanwhile, carved up a low-l
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