The college football that I grew up watching ran through the SEC.
Seeing Alabama hoist the championship trophy almost every January was like giving up on a New Year's resolution. Whether you liked it or not, it was inevitable.
But now -- things are different. There's a new big dog in the yard.
With championship dominance in back-to-back seasons, and now in play for three straight, the Big Ten has become college football's premier conference.
In a Peach Bowl semifinal blowout of conference rival Oregon, Indiana secured a spot in the College Football Championship game, positioning the Big Ten for yet another national title.
The Curt Cignetti led Hoosiers remain the odds-on favorite to win this year's CFP and are now a win over Miami on its home field away from officially being crowned the best in the nation.
After a dominant undefeated regular season, the Hoosiers sent a message on behalf of the Big Ten when they embarrassed the SEC's prized possession Crimson Tide 38-3 in the second round of the CFP.
The Southeastern Conference's run of dominance is officially over.
In the age of NIL, the playing field has been leveled. With a more spread-out distribution of wealth and talent, the Big Ten has flourished.
When a team gets hot and starts to make some noise, it quickly becomes a recruiting hotbed. Indiana is a clear example of a Big Ten team that recently struck gold.
Once the laughingstock of their conference and college football in general, the Hoosiers finished the 2025 regular season as the No. 1 team in the AP poll, the No. 1 seed in the CFP, won the Big Ten championship and now according to CBS Sports, rank in the top five in 2026 portal classes.
Also worth noting, the man leading the Hoosiers into battle each week is 2026 Heisman trophy winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza (a 2025 portal acquisition).
A top-ranked team led by a Heisman QB screams SEC. But with the recent transition of power that we are actively watching, Indiana and the Big Ten are shifting the tide of domination up north.
Two years ago, if I saw an IU vs Alabama matchup on the schedule, I would advise my entire bloodline to bet the house on the Tide. But after what I saw last week, I'm not sure I'll feel that way for a good while.
The work that Cignetti has done to turnaround a once pitiful team, has become one of the greatest stories in sports and signifies a changing of the guard in college football.
Putting James Madison back on the map with back-to-back AP poll ranked seasons, and an 11-1 season was not a fluke. Now on the verge of bringing a national championship to Bloomington, Cignetti has been integral in the Big Ten’s rise to the mountain top.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that billionaire Mark Cuban is signing lots of checks with lots of zeroes.
I'll admit that it took me longer than most to realize that the Cignetti effect is legit, but I'm now well aware and will acknowledge the power and influence that the former Alabama assistant has.
He's a winner. Simple as that. Google him.