LAS VEGAS — Caleb Downs has spent two seasons in college football’s premier conferences.
If he sees either the Big Ten or Southeastern Conference as the superior league, it’s the one with the recent hardware.
“Whatever team wins the national championship can say whatever they want,” Downs said. “The Big Ten has won the past two years, so they can claim whatever they want to claim until somebody else takes it.”
Downs, the All-American safety who transferred to Ohio State from Alabama last year, helped the Buckeyes to capture the national championship last season, winning four consecutive games to advance through the first 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes’ postseason run followed that of archrival Michigan. The Wolverines finished atop the sport during an undefeated season the previous year.
The SEC has long laid claim to being the top conference in the nation, especially during a stretch from 2006 until 2022, which saw the league produce 13 of 17 national champions. Six were won by Alabama, which was led by legendary coach Nick Saban.
Saban retired at the end of 2023, prompting Downs to put his name in the transfer portal in order to leave the Crimson Tide.
Both conferences have consolidated power in recent years due to conference expansion. The Big Ten added former Pac-12 schools Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington last year as the SEC poached Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12.
The additions left the Big Ten with 18 schools and the SEC with 16 members.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Why Ohio State football’s Caleb Downs gives the Big Ten an edge over SEC as top conference
Reporting by Joey Kaufman, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
