Our friends at Rutgers Wire passed along an interesting piece in which Alabama-based SEC talk-show giant Paul Finebaum commented on the Big Ten’s offseason maneuvers.
The Big Ten has really changed the conversation in college sports. People have thought of the SEC as the king of all conferences (or at least, I certainly have, given the centrality of the SEC at the victory stand in College Football Playoff semifinals and national title games over the past decade).
What the USC and UCLA additions to the Big Ten have done: They have shaped a new awareness in which the Big Ten and SEC stand over all the other conferences as two goliath-like entities.
In the Rutgers Wire piece, Finebaum had this to say about USC’s place in the larger picture:
“I think what it really does point to is the significance of the move of SC (USC) and UCLA, especially SC to the Big Ten. It brought not only tradition but it brought the Los Angeles market into it, which is beyond critical,” Finebaum said.
“Nobody is saying that the SEC didn’t do well with Texas and Oklahoma. We did. But it’s been such a long, drawn process and I think more than anything it won’t make Texas and Oklahoma come into the league yet. But I think it adds enormous pressure of getting Texas and Oklahoma into the SEC by ’24 when this goes into effect. And I think that will happen.”
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz8sj88pxak7gd player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=44773]