Join JR and Jeff on The Big Ten Huddle as they analyze the SEC's major shift to a 9-game conference schedule announced on August 21, 2025, effective 2026. Without divisions, teams will play 3 annual rivals to preserve traditions like Georgia-Auburn, with the other 6 games rotating—ensuring every opponent is faced at least once every 2 years and home/away every 4. Plus, SEC schools must schedule one high-quality non-con foe from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, or Notre Dame, tying into enhanced playoff strength-of-schedule metrics.

The duo debates the Big Ten's response: matching the SEC by requiring a power non-con game for all teams to avoid tiebreaker losses in playoff selections. They highlight needs like protected rivalries (e.g., for USC, Oregon, Washington, UCLA to ease travel) and consistent rotations for fairness, especially for teams like Penn State. Impacts on specific Big Ten squads: Indiana must toughen non-con schedules (e.g., drop weak opponents like Howard for ACC/Big 12 matchups) after canceling Virginia; USC should retain Notre Dame as their power rival; Michigan could revive periodic Notre Dame games alongside series like Oklahoma.

They advocate a Big Ten-SEC challenge with balanced matchups (e.g., Ohio State vs. Georgia, Iowa vs. Texas) for exciting early-season games, better fan engagement, and iron-sharpens-iron preparation—while keeping 2 easier non-con games to support smaller programs financially. This move levels the playing field, boosts college football quality, and could end talks of expanding playoffs beyond 16 teams. Good for rivalries, playoffs, and the sport overall!

Additional The Big Ten Huddle Channels:
@TheBigTenHuddleBasketball
@TheOhioStateHuddle

More from JR:
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Read JR's Ohio State coverage: https://scarletandgame.com/author/jrhoades1
Read JR's Illinois coverage: https://writingillini.com/author/jrhoades1

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Catch The Big Ten Huddle Football Episodes 3 times a week. Here is when to catch our live or premiere episodes that are about an hour long (eastern time):

• Sunday at 9 PM w/ Zack
• Tuesday at 9 PM w/ Zack
• Thursday at 9 PM w/ Jeff

You can also expect videos by JR throughout the week covering news and interesting topics.

*All times are Eastern time

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The Big Ten Huddle is a podcast dedicated to providing honest, humorous, and insightful analysis of Big Ten football and basketball. With a focus on challenging the national bias, especially against the SEC, hosts JR and Zack offer unfiltered discussions that engage fans of all Big Ten teams. Though critical at times, they always aim to defend the conference and give credit where it’s due, bringing humor and deep analysis together for a unique listening experience.

Rooted in values of integrity, passion, and community, The Big Ten Huddle strives to become the go-to voice for Big Ten sports fans.

There is no show out there like The Big Ten Huddle!

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