Ohio State Buckeyes Stars Take Aim at SEC With Pointed Claim

The Ohio State Buckeyes captured the national championship last season, and they vanquished multiple SEC teams throughout their quest.

So, it begs the question: has the Big Ten surpassed the SEC as the best conference in the nation?

Ohio State stars Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs certainly think so, as they made their feelings on the comparison very clear at Big Ten media day.

“Yeah, I should say that,” Smith told reporters. “The Big Ten has won back-to-back national championships. The SEC, they did it for a long time, so I feel like the Big Ten, we’re starting to get there. Hopefully we can do it for a long period of time like the SEC.”

The Buckeyes defeated both Tennessee and Texas during their College Football Playoff run last season, and their win over the Volunteers was never close.

Downs himself played for an SEC team during his freshman campaign, as he transferred to Ohio State from Alabama after 2023. But he clearly has no sense of loyalty to his former conference.

“I feel like whatever team wins the national championship can say whatever they want,” Downs said. “The Big Ten’s won the past two years. They can claim whatever they want to claim until someone else takes it.”

Smith and Downs both make a good point. Michigan and Ohio State have captured the last two national titles, although the SEC did win four straight championships prior to that.

To be fair, the SEC may still be the deeper conference overall, but a legitimate argument can be made that the Big Ten — which added top schools like Oregon, USC and more last year — is the more top-heavy of the two.

The Buckeyes will face an SEC team to open up the 2025 regular season, as they will battle the Longhorns in Columbus in a Cotton Bowl rematch on Aug. 30.