For years, the dominant convention in school soccer has been the Southeastern Convention (SEC).
Because the begin of the School Soccer Playoff period in 2014, the SEC has received six of 11 nationwide championships.
Nonetheless, the tide could possibly be turning, as a brand new superior convention could emerge, in response to FOX’s Colin Cowherd.
The previous two nationwide champions have come from the Large Ten: Michigan in 2023 and Ohio State final 12 months. May this point out an influence shift in school soccer?
With an expanded convention, the Large Ten convention now consists of Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington.
Whereas UCLA is not a big participant by way of convention impression, the benefits of NIL and income sharing make being a university scholar in Los Angeles extra interesting.
Nonetheless, UCLA will nonetheless need to compete with crosstown rival USC, which has newer success and an even bigger model.
In its first 12 months within the Large Ten, Oregon received the convention championship, defeating Penn State 45-37 and capping off an ideal common season. Oregon earned a first-round bye within the newly formatted CFP, whereas two different Large Ten groups ready for his or her first-round video games.
Penn State simply dealt with SMU, 38-10. Ohio State, coming off an upset loss to unranked rival Michigan, confronted Tennessee in a extremely anticipated matchup.
Michigan & Tennessee in Joel Klatt’s CFB inventory watch
Within the first Large Ten vs. SEC recreation of the brand new CFP period, this matchup served as a measurement of the 2 superior conferences. The Buckeyes routed Tennessee, 42-17.
On their path to a different nationwide championship, the Buckeyes confronted one other SEC opponent, the Texas Longhorns. Ohio State and Texas met within the semifinals; whereas the Buckeyes didn’t dominate the Longhorns as decisively as they did towards Tennessee, they nonetheless received by two scores and held Texas to 14 factors — the bottom scored towards them since November 2022.
Cowherd identified that with NIL, the Large Ten now has cash to spend and is not afraid to take action.
Texas & Ohio State in Joel Klatt’s prime video games that can form the 2025 season
Final 12 months, Ohio State had the costliest roster, spending over $20 million on its workforce. This 12 months, they once more rank among the many prime spenders within the sport, coming in at No. 3, with three different Large Ten faculties shut behind: No. 4 Oregon, and Michigan and USC tied for seventh.
In 2023, on their path to a nationwide championship, Michigan defeated Alabama within the CFP Semifinals on the Rose Bowl, 27-20. Final season, in a “down” 12 months for each applications, they met once more within the ReliaQuest Bowl and it was the identical outcome. Michigan defeated Alabama 19-13.
To kick off the 2025-26 season, a few of the prime groups within the Large Ten and SEC are set to satisfy in Week 1. Ohio State hosts Texas in a rematch of the Cotton Bowl Semifinal, and the Buckeyes are favored -2.5 on this extremely anticipated Week 1 matchup.
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