Did The Big Ten Benefit From College Football Playoff Poll?
Iowa's inclusion in top 25 gives Big Ten strength of schedule boost while Tennessee, Missouri drop
The first release of the 2025 College Football Playoff poll is here, and for the most part, it seems like the committee got it right.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are No. 1, the Indiana Hoosiers are No. 2, and the Texas A&M Aggies are No. 3. Almost exactly what most fans and observers expected.
That's encouraging, in part because it's become a repetitive trend in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for some SEC teams to receive the benefit of the doubt. The LSU Tigers hung around the top 10, even as their signature win evaporated. Then the Tennessee Volunteers sat in the top 15 despite a questionable resume themselves.
It was worth raising concerns over how much this AP Poll voter assumption of SEC superiority would influence the playoff committee. But based on their first rankings, it seems like they completely ignored it. While that's great news for fans who want to see analytical evaluation included as part of consistent rankings, it's also great news for a different entity within the sport: the Big Ten Conference.
EUGENE, OREGON - OCTOBER 11: Louis Moore #7 of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrates after an interception during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium on October 11, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
Big Ten Could Benefit From Committee Rankings
How does the Big Ten benefit from the CFB Playoff rankings? Well, relative to the AP Top 25 Poll, the Big Ten got an extra team in the top 25: Iowa. That matters because it sets a precedent for all-important "strength of schedule" arguments. While the SEC has nine teams in the top 25, as they do in the AP Poll, both Missouri and Tennessee are also several spots lower in the CFB Playoff rankings. As they should be.
Getting that extra team into the top 25 takes some of the bite out of one of the SEC's most commonly used arguments: games against ranked opponents. For years, SEC teams have benefited from the assumption of superiority. Preseason rankings overrate certain programs, like, for example, LSU this year, and then that overranking is used to shore up strength of schedule. Even though the Tigers were underwhelming, their opponents have been credited with a ranked win or a "quality" loss.
Several Big Ten teams are also higher than their ranking in the AP Poll, such as USC and Washington. And while the Oregon Ducks are lower, they're now set to benefit from the SEC playbook.
Saturday's game between the Ducks and Hawkeyes is a ranked matchup, per the CFB Playoff poll, while it isn't in the AP Poll. See how that can impact strength of schedule? That's why there's so much consternation about how the AP rankings can influence the debate over which conference deserves more teams in the 12-team field.
The SEC is heavily represented, as it should be considering the conference's quality depth. But the Big Ten has to be thrilled that the more important poll has done a better job of ranking its teams. And it's likely to pay dividends when playoff time actually comes.