CBS Sports pits Auburn with this Big Ten team in a hypothetical alliance
Talking season is underway, and the biggest topics of discussion this week are potential changes to the College Football Playoff format and a possible alliance between the SEC and Big Ten.
During the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Florida this week, LSU head coach Brian Kelly discussed the desire of fellow SEC head coaches for SEC teams to face one Big Ten team each season in the future in an effort to challenge each team.
"The Big Ten right now holds it on the SEC," Kelly said this week. "They've 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's up to the commissioner and the ADs, but that's the wish of the room."
If this dream were to become a reality, which Big Ten squad would pair best with the Auburn Tigers? Brad Crawford of CBS Sports recently pieced together hypothetical pairings of an SEC vs. Big Ten schedule, and has pitted Auburn with Iowa in this scenario.
The two teams have never met on the gridiron, and the traditions that each team possesses would create an electric atmosphere in the regular season.
Despite all of those Florida-based bowl games for the Tigers and Hawkeyes, these programs have never played. What's up with that? Iowa has one of the nation's best gamed traditions with the 'Hawkeye Wave' at the end of the first quarter of every home game while Auburn enjoys the 'Tiger Walk' and pre-game 'Flight of the War Eagle' prior to kickoff. It would be a neat experience for fans of both teams if Auburn and Iowa were locked in a alternating series with at least enough time for each program to get a home game.
Auburn has a winning record historically against the Big Ten at 16-15-1, with most matchups coming in postseason play. The Tigers have a winning record over seven Big Ten squads including Washington, Michigan State, and Oregon, with teams such as Penn State, Wisconsin, and USC holding an edge over the Tigers. The potential alliance between the SEC and Big Ten would create opportunities for Auburn to square off with the conferences best teams while expanding their history with teams such as Illinois, UCLA, and Iowa, teams that Auburn has never played on the field.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
16 minutes ago
- USA Today
Ernest Hausmann lauds Bryce Underwood's maturity, preparation for Michigan's QB position
At the moment, Michigan football does not have a starting quarterback. But everyone -- at least outside of the program -- has a pretty good feeling about who it will be. Former five-star and No. 1 overall recruit in 2025, Bryce Underwood, got the bulk of the reps in spring ball. He has physical capability that cannot be taught. It may seem like a formality, but head coach Sherrone Moore says the Wolverines will still go through their paces, especially with Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene finally healthy. While everyone waxes poetic about Underwood, perhaps the best compliments he could receive come from the defense he went up against in spring ball and the one he's about to see in fall camp. At Big Ten media days, senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann joined the chorus praising the true freshman, noting what he does when people aren't looking and how that makes a difference. "Bryce is as good as advertised," Hausmann said. "But the thing that I'm really impressed about Bryce is the way he's matured beyond his years. You would never know that he's 17 years old coming into a college program, a five-star recruit, heavily recruited, has high expectations. You would never know that by looking at him, by talking to him at all. "The quarterback position it's completely open. We don't know who's going to be playing. We don't know who's going to be Week 1, Week 2, Week 3. It could all change, right? But I'm just very impressed at how he's really carried himself as a person because he fit right in well with his quarterback room. Because the whole quarterback room, they love to work. They do so much work behind closed doors that people don't even see -- that I don't even see. But I just know he's a perfect fit for that. He's going to continue to push that room, make that room better. I'm very excited to see what that room does this year." So, what stands out in particular to Hausmann? He shared an anecdote that shows just how mature Underwood is, even at 17 years of age. "Like I said, it's his preparation, right?" Hausmann said. "I remember one moment, I'm seeing him before practice, right? Most of the time, people are getting taped up, ready, but he's out there walking through his plays by himself. And so it just goes to show how bought in, how he cares about his preparation. "Like I said before, the whole quarterback room is so bought into preparation. They all do things like that that we don't see behind the scenes, and it's just so special. And as a defense, I can tell my whole defense. We can trust that. We can trust that room." The Michigan defense needs Underwood to work out just as much as the offense does. The offense was constantly stymied by subpar quarterback play in 2024, which meant that the defense had to work extra hard to get the ball back. It didn't always work out as planned. By the end of the season, the defense was the unit getting the job done. Though the offense had some timely drives -- particularly against Ohio State and Alabama -- it just wasn't the brand of complementary football that Michigan is accustomed to having. But now, beyond even Underwood, Hausmann says there's a trust that exists between the defense and the quarterbacks. But Underwood, in particular, has done enough to earn a seal of approval from Hausmann and company. "It's your daily actions that gain the trust of others, right? And he's shown and he's proven to us that he's a high-level person beyond just football players, and that's what we love about people," Hausmann said. "If you're a high-level person, we know what you're going to be on the field. Because with someone, you want to know what you're going to get out of the person on the field. You don't ever want to ask or expect. With Bryce, you know what you can get out of him. He's a high-level competitor. Like I said, he just fits that quarterback room perfectly well, and I'm excited to see who ends up being the quarterback." Fans will get their first opportunity to see Underwood in an actual college game on August 30 (even if he's not the starter) when Michigan hosts New Mexico for the season opener.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Ernest Hausmann says toughness drove Michigan's 2024 wins over Ohio State, Alabama in bowl
Sitting at 5-5, no one expected much of note for the Michigan Wolverines for the rest of the way in 2024. Considered a favorite, but not by much, against Northwestern, the maize and blue took that game before shocking the world with a win in Columbus against Ohio State. The Wolverines then finished off the run with another surprising win, this time against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The final three wins were indications that Sherrone Moore hadn't lost his team. But what's more than that, linebacker Ernest Hausmann says (when asked about beating OSU), the team came together with the common denominator being toughness. "We always pride ourselves on being the most toughest team out there on every single field. And, when you get to November, that's what it's about," Hausmann said at Big Ten media days. "It's about who is the toughest team because it's a product, when you get to November, about your offseason training, really. Because every single team is banged up. Every team is hurting, everyone's going through something that late in the season. "And so really, who really took the offseason training to have your body right, in a good enough condition where you can execute, and still be playing with the principles and the foundation of what we're built on. And that's toughness. And we hang our hats on that. But we have to do that each and every day to make sure we still strive for that." Now a leader on the Wolverines, Hausmann is working to instill that same mentality in the younger players who are on the defense and in his room. The proof is in the pudding: being able to out-tough opponents works, and though there were some speed bumps on the way to the final wins of 2024, being able to handle adversity mixed with physicality is the path to success. "I hope the young guys understand that, because it's huge that, those last couple of games, even if we talk about Ohio State first game, understanding that it's a long season," Hausmann said. "It's a very long season. And to see the growth that we took -- I'm just talking from a defensive standpoint, the people in my room -- and just seeing how as players, you have a responsibility to find a way to adjust, right? If something's not working, we're not having the success that we want, you have to find a way to adjust. The world's going to keep going on. You still have a game that Saturday, and you yourself have to figure out what you've got to do differently, and to be able to change that. And I think we did that well as a defense and really paid dividends for our successes towards the end of the season." Fans will get an opportunity to see the new-look Wolverines on August 30 when Michigan hosts New Mexico for the 2025 season opener.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Big Ten Network personality Jake Butt picks teams for 2025 Big Ten title game
Another Big Ten football media days is in the books, and now we can focus our attention towards the start of fall camp and the buildup to the start of the 2025 college football season. Ohio State will be defending its College Football Playoff national championship and will look to add a couple of goals it missed out on last season -- winning the Big Ten and beating Michigan. That's not as easy as it used to be with the addition of former Pac-12 schools from the West Coast -- Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC-- and with Michigan and Penn State rising up to become national powers as well. The Big Ten has closed the gap on the SEC and created one of its own as the best conference in the country, and it should be another fantastic season in 2025. So, who has the advantage in making the Big Ten Championship game? Ohio State and Penn State are expected to be the best teams this year according to most of the media, but that's not what Jake Butt from the Big Ten Network thinks. In a segment on social media, Butt provided his picks for teams that will play in Indianapolis, and he omitted Ohio State, picking Penn State to tussle with Oregon instead. It's all opinion, of course, and it's not like the Ducks aren't a program to reckon with almost annually now, so there's that. But Butt not identifying his alma mater, Michigan or the Buckeyes, is an interesting take, especially considering Oregon lost as much talent as OSU. But never fear Ohio State fans, Butt did mention Ohio State as one of the teams that will contend for a College Football Playoff spot -- so there's at least that. Ohio State defending its title and having a shot at a conference crown will largely depend on the production it gets at the quarterback spot and how well the defense plugs some of those gaps lost to the NFL. It won't take long to see how those questions are answered because the Buckeyes open up against Texas in Week 1. Let the countdown continue. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
