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Nov 16, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly walks onto the field before a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

LSU Football's Brian Kelly on SEC Scheduling: 'We Want to Play Big Ten Schools'

Originally posted on LSU Tigers on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated May 28, 2025 4:15 PM ET

LSU head coach Brian Kelly has made it clear he wants to square off against the top talent in the nation after making the move to the Southeastern Conference from Notre Dame.

The opportunity to be challenged against the likes of Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida and Ole Miss, among others, is what makes the SEC such a valued piece of college football.

But Kelly and other shot-callers around the Southeastern Conference want to up the competition level even more.

During SEC spring meetings in Destin (Fla.) this week, Kelly and other head coaches broke down that they want to compete against Big Ten schools.

With the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines winning the last two National Championships, the opportunity to play against the conference intrigues SEC coaches across the league.

"We want to compete against the Big Ten," Kelly said, following the last day of coaches meetings at the annual SEC spring meetings. "Look, the Big Ten right now holds it on the SEC. They won the last two national championships. That's the reality of it.

"We want to get challenged in that regard, and we'd like to be able to get that done. "That is up to our commissioner and the ADs to see if that can happen or not, but that's the wish of the room."

LSU coach Brian Kelly says officials this week did discuss a regular season scheduling arrangement with the Big Ten, including adding a ninth SEC game. Would be 9 SEC games + B1G game + 2 others.

“We want to play Big Ten schools,” Kelly says.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 28, 2025

But Kelly isn't the only head coach that has voiced his thoughts on squaring off against Big Ten foes moving forward.

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is on board with the idea of doing the same, but also wants to keep the rivalry game with the Clemson Tigers.

"For me, I think it's ironclad," Beamer said of the South Carolina-Clemson game. "There's people above me who make that decision, but I would never want that game to go away.

"Rivalries and rivalry weekend are what make this sport great. ... I know how important that game is to the people of South Carolina, and I don't want that game going anywhere."

Another head coach that discussed the scheduling format was Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz. He wants to take on the best and prove the SEC is a superior conference in college football.

"It bothers us as competitors," Drinkwitz said. "We feel like we're the best conference in college football, and we want to make sure that the ultimate prize at the end of the year is that national championship trophy.

"We haven't been able to do that the last two years, and I think we're all competitive enough that's often what we're competing for. I don't know if two years is a data point yet or a trend. Obviously, we have to take a look and see what we can do better."

Now, Kelly and Co. will look to move forward with the opportunity to square off against Big Ten schools after making their voices heard this week in Destin.