4 days ago
CBS Sports pits Auburn with this Big Ten team in a hypothetical alliance
CBS Sports pits Auburn with this Big Ten team in a hypothetical alliance The traditional fanfare between these two programs would create an electric atmosphere says Brad Crawford of CBS Sports.
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.
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