We live today in a peripatetic, wired world. The moment is what matters; forget about yesterday.

Three Big Ten (B1G) teams have won the last three college football (CFB) championships. The usual suspects, Michigan in 2023 and Ohio State in 2024, won it all.

The suspect Indiana Hoosiers completed the greatest two-year turnaround in the history of CFB, defeating Miami on its home field to capture last season's crown. Move over Hickory High and Gene Hackman.

So Hats Off to the B1G! But does this B1G trifecta mean that the conference has surpassed the It Just Means More SEC, the conference that dominated BCS and Playoff titles from the 1998 season through 2022?

I say, Not So Fast, my B1G friends!

Yes, Indiana, one of three B1G teams in the field, came through in 2025, but let's not forget that the SEC placed five teams in the field.

It's also chic today to note that the B1G will likely have more first-round NFL draft picks in 2026 than the SEC. However, the draft is a seven-round exercise, and over the seven rounds, which conference is expected to have the most picks?

It's the SEC, for the 20th consecutive year, extending its record from 2007 through 2025. NIL has spread the talent around, no doubt. But the SEC continues to send the most players to the NFL.

On April 16, 2026, The Athletic's Dane Brugler released his fourth mock 2026 draft, predicting every pick from No. 1 to No. 257.

Although the holes were rather small, I had to count them all. Now I know how many holes it takes to fill Pittsburgh's Acrisure Hall. 😁

Here's a summary of the eight Ducks expected to be drafted in 2026.

Oregon Ducks On SI

Two Oregon Ducks Drafted To Dallas Cowboys In New Prediction

The 2026 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and several former Oregon Ducks are expected to be selected by various NFL teams. Dane Brugler, an NFL Draft anal

I was not surprised to see these Elite 8 Ducks on the list. I was surprised to see OT Alex Harkey going ahead of OT Isiah World.

This is the number of players chosen from the B1G and the SEC through seven rounds.

1st Round - B1G - 11 -

Ohio State - 4/ Indiana - 2/ Oregon - 2/ Penn State, USC, and UW - 1 each

1st Round - SEC - 8 -

2 each from Tennessee and Texas A+M/ 1 each from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, and LSU

2nd Round - B1G 6/ SEC 15

64 players taken in the 1st and 2nd rounds - the cream of the draft crop.

The SEC leads in the 2nd round and thereafter through the 7th round.

3rd Round - B1G 9/ SEC 15

4th Round - B1G 13/ SEC 14

5th Round - B1G 9/ SEC 10

6th Round - B1G 12/ SEC 16

Total - B1G - 69 players drafted/ SEC 75 players drafted

B1G - 3.83 drafted per 18-member schools/ 4.68 drafted per 16-member schools.

What these numbers do not necessarily account for is the quality of the coaching in the two conferences. Overall, the Big Ten has the more experienced coaches

New coaches Whittingham at Michigan, Campbell at Penn State, and Fitzgerald at Michigan State come from Utah, Iowa State, and Northwestern programs, which they left with the most wins in program history.

New coaches at Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, and Ole Miss have no regular-season Power 4 head coaching experience. LSU is the exception.

Roster rankings do support the SEC teams, top to bottom, having more talent than Big Ten teams. But talent is potential that will succeed only if the coaching results in the sum of the whole being greater than the parts.

Big Ten projected draft picks: Illinois 2/ Indiana 8/ Iowa 7/ Maryland 2/ Michigan 5/ Michigan State 2/ Nebraska 1/ Northwesten 3/ Ohio State 10/ Oregon 8/ Penn State 7/ USC 5/ UCLA 1/ Washington 3/ Wisconsin 1

If all draft-eligible Ducks players had entered the draft, Oregon would have more players drafted than Ohio State. IMO, that's a WOW!

The Big Ten has closed the gap, but IMO the conference has yet to dethrone the SEC.

How Close?

"What these numbers do not necessarily account for is the quality of the coaching in the two conferences."

GREAT point Jon, as the coaching in this conference is now unbelievable, and it will be brutally tough to win games. By all measures, we have closed the gap on many metrics to the SEC, and exceeded in others. We have only just begun!