SEC commish Greg Sankey challenges Big Ten coaches to back up trash talk on the field

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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey responded Monday to Big Ten coaches’ criticism of his conference’s placement in the first College Football Playoff rankings.

The comments from Sankey follow public remarks from Indiana coach Curt Cignetti and Illinois coach Bret Bielema, who questioned how SEC teams were being evaluated compared with their Big Ten counterparts.

The selection committee placed five SEC programs in its initial top 10: Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas and Ole Miss. Indiana and UCLA were the Big Ten’s two representatives in that group, ranked fourth and eighth, respectively.

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Sankey addressed the debate during an appearance on “The Paul Finebaum Show.” On3 shared his response Monday on X, formerly Twitter, capturing his message to the coaches challenging the SEC’s rankings.

NEW: Greg Sankey on Big Ten coaches' comments about the SEC and College Football Playoff rankings:

"One of those head coaches canceled a non-conference game with one of our teams. What I would say is, hey, we’re ready to schedule those non-conference games. If you’re concerned… pic.twitter.com/IuGpheY6wy

— On3 (@On3) November 9, 2026

Sankey encouraged more non-conference matchups between the leagues, arguing that teams could test their assessments of SEC opponents through regular-season competition. He also pointed to a canceled series involving one of the coaches’ programs.

The reference concerned Illinois’ scheduling change involving Missouri. Illinois announced November 3 that Notre Dame would replace Missouri on its 2027 and 2028 schedules. The Fighting Illini will visit South Bend in 2027 before hosting the Fighting Irish in Champaign the following year.

Cignetti’s criticism centered on ESPN’s treatment of the SEC and the placement of Big Ten teams with two losses. Bielema suggested Illinois would rank in the top 15 if it played in the SEC after improving to 6-3 with a win over Nebraska.

The College Football Playoff selection committee lists strength of schedule, head-to-head results and performance against common opponents among the principles it uses to compare teams with similar résumés.

The committee’s next rankings are scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, at approximately 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on ESPN, following Sankey’s challenge to settle the debate on the field.

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