College football fans from around the nation often complain that the SEC is grossly overrated. The reality, though, is that the Big Ten is the most overrated conference in college football—which is saying something, considering no one respects the Big Ten in the first place. Year after year, 
Big Ten teams get placed 
into bowl games that they don’t deserve to be in, and it shows by how they perform.

The Big Ten went 2-5 in the 2013 bowl series; they went 2-5 in the 2012 bowl series; they went 3-5 in the 2011 bowl series. The last time the Big Ten didn’t completely 
embarrass itself in bowl games was in the 2010 bowl series, when they went 4-3 (golf clap). 2009: 1-6; 2008: 3-5; 2007: 2-5; 2006: 3-4. Absolutely terrible. With horrible turn outs like these, one has to wonder why the bowl selection committee continues to place Big Ten teams into quality bowl game match-ups, against opponents they simply cannot handle. It’s because the Big Ten is perceived to be better than it really is, and because these committees give the Big Ten more respect than it deserves—which, by definition, means the conference is overrated. Now, good reader, I’m sure 
you’re wondering how the SEC fared in bowl games during these same seasons? Answer: 
it dominated.

The SEC only had one bowl series, in 8 seasons, that it didn’t have a winning record, and it was when they went 5-5 in 2010. If the difference in performance between the two conferences still isn’t clear: the SEC went 49-25 (.662 win percentage) overall in bowl games from 2006-2013, 
compared to the Big Ten’s record of 20-38 (.345 win percentage). I won’t even bother mentioning the number of national titles SEC programs won during this time—though I will add that a couple of them were won against Big Ten competition. In the end, keep saying that SEC programs are overrated all you want, but the fact is that their credit is deserved, while Big Ten teams continue to prove that they are given way too much benefit of the doubt, and that they are incapable of performing at the level that people expect 
them to.

Daniel Wren is a sophomore studying finance.