Is the Big Ten or the SEC the best conference in college football?

Urban Meyer has coached and won national championships in both conferences. And when it comes to which one is better, he has a pretty definitive answer.

“For close to 20 years, the SEC, we all knew it, dominated the country and the Big Ten Conference,” Meyer said on Week 1’s edition of “Big Noon Kickoff” when asked about the Big Ten vs. SEC debate. “They won 13 of 17 national championships. You know what? That all changed three years ago when the Michigan Wolverines, then the Ohio State Buckeyes, and then the Indiana Hoosiers won the national title.

“It’s not just at the top of the league. Yes, the Big Ten is 4-0 against the SEC in College Football Playoff games, but they’ve also won four of five in the non-College Football Playoff bowls. So, as of now, it is the best conference.”

That debate goes beyond results on the field. 

“The SEC has dominated the NFL Draft for so many years,” Meyer added. “You know what happened last year? The Big Ten had more first-round picks than the SEC. The Big Ten Conference is the strongest conference in college football. That was last year. We’ll see [what happens] this year.”

The Big Ten sent four teams to the 2024 College Football Playoff, which was the first year of the 12-team format. Then, last season (2025), it sent three teams to the playoff, with Indiana and Ohio State each earning first-round byes as the No. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively. The Big Ten also had two teams reach the semifinal round: eventual-champion Indiana and the Oregon Ducks.

As for the NFL Draft, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 1 pick, marking the first time a Big Ten player was selected with the top overall pick since Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long was taken by the Miami Dolphins in 2008. Even more, four of the top-10 selections in the draft were players from the Big Ten: Mendoza, Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate (No. 4) and Ohio State linebackers Arvell Reese (No. 5) and Sonny Styles (No. 7).

Before 2023, a Big Ten team hadn’t won the national championship since Ohio State captured the title in 2014 with Meyer as head coach, his third season in Columbus. Over Meyer’s seven seasons at Ohio State (2012-18), the Buckeyes went a combined 83-9, winning at least 10 games in every season.

Meyer’s SEC coaching stint came at Florida, where he served as head coach from 2005-10. Across six seasons in Gainesville, Meyer went 65-15, won two SEC titles and captured two national championships, in 2006 and 2008.

Entering Week 1 of the 2026 season, the Big Ten has three teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 and eight teams in the Top 25 altogether: Ohio State (one), Oregon (two), Indiana (six), USC (T-14), Michigan (16), Washington (17), Penn State (18) and Iowa (22).

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams — Ryan Williams at the time — put together a freshman season that made college football fans believe he had the goods to be the next great Crimson Tide pass-catcher.

Coleman-Williams kicked off his college career with a bang, hauling in two catches for 139 yards — both of which went for touchdowns — in Alabama’s 2024 season-opening win over Western Kentucky. At just 17 years old, one of the youngest players in FBS football, he appeared to be heading for superstardom.

The 6-foot, 184-pound wideout put together massive outings against the likes of Vanderbilt, Georgia and Tennessee, concluding his true freshman season with 48 catches for 865 yards and 10 total touchdowns. He earned first-team All-SEC and second-team All-American honors while also being named a freshman All-American.

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams had two costly drops in the first half of the team’s season-opener. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)

Last year, though, was another story. Coleman-Williams failed to take the next step many expected him to take, despite playing with an elite-level quarterback in Ty Simpson, who went on to be selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.

Now, with sophomore Keelon Russell under center and another offseason under his belt, this is supposed to be the year Coleman-Williams takes his game to another level.

But early indications show Coleman-Williams still has a few things to work out before he’s ready to reach that superstar level.

In Alabama’s Week 1 opener, Coleman-Williams had a pair of inexplicable drops, leaving fans to wonder: Is the junior wideout dealing with a case of the “yips?”

The first drop came midway through the opening quarter when Russell found Coleman-Williams wide open down the seam. The junior leaped for the catch, but the ball fell right through his hands.

“That’s the bugaboo from last season,” the broadcast crew said following the unexplainable drop.

Later in the half, as Alabama was driving down the field, Coleman-Williams ran a fade-stop route and Russell found him open in the end zone. Yet again, though, the ball went right through his hands.

Coleman-Williams did make up for it, finishing the opening half with four catches for 100 yards.

For Coleman-Williams, the drops were impossible to ignore, particularly given the expectations surrounding him entering his junior season, but his four catches for 100 yards in the first half also offered a reminder of the playmaking ability that made him such a highly touted prospect when he arrived in Tuscaloosa.

One game isn’t everything, but if the Crimson Tide are going to make a run at a national title this season, they’ll need their star wideout to turn those flashes of brilliance into consistency.

Star Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty produced a stirring comeback to beat China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in a three-game thriller and clinch the China Masters Super 750 title on Sunday. Playing their third final here, Satwik and Chirag, who finished runners-up in the 2023 and 2025 editions, fought their way to an 11-21 21-13 21-17 victory over former world No. 4 He and Ren in a one-hour and 10-minute battle. It is the second title of the season for the Indians, who had won the Singapore Open Super 750 and also reached the final of the Thailand Open Super 500. The title is a big boost for the world No. 5 pair as they gear up to defend their gold medal at the Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Japan from September 19.

The Indians were up against a Chinese pair whose ranking had slipped to world No. 70 following a prolonged absence from the circuit.

It is just the third event for He Ji Ting, who returned to competitive badminton after serving a team-imposed disciplinary suspension by the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA).

Satwik and Chirag, however, had defeated the Chinese pair twice in their only two previous meetings.

The Indian pair had played three three-game matches en route to the final, dropping the second game after winning the opening game in each of those encounters.

Playing their third final in their 10th tournament of the year, Satwik and Chirag opted to choose ends after winning the toss instead of receiving.

The Indians couldn’t take early control of the rallies as He Ji Ting and Ren zoomed to a 5-0 lead with fast, attacking strokes in short and snappy exchanges. They kept their serves tight and flat while maintaining an angled attack. A jump smash from He Ji Ting helped the Chinese pair maintain their five-point lead at 8-3.

The Indians tried to break through their rivals’ defence, but the fast and aggressive Chinese pair took a six-point advantage into the interval. The Indians couldn’t quite match the pace of their rivals as the deficit widened to 7-14. He Ji Ting looked in ominous touch, raining down thunderous smashes to shatter the Indians’ defence.

A service fault from Chirag only added to the agony as the Chinese pair stretched their lead to 17-9. Another wide shot from Chirag allowed the Chinese pair to wrap up the opening game.

The Indians produced a far better show in the second game, tightening their defence and extending the rallies. Satwik also opted for a flick serve to keep the Chinese pair guessing and prevented them from engaging in the front court too often.

Satwik and Chirag wrested the lead at 7-6 after a closely fought passage of play. A body smash from Chirag, their fifth straight point, took the Indians to 9-6, but a service error from Satwik ended their run.

A quick interception by Chirag, followed by a smash, helped the Indians take a four-point lead into the interval. Seven of the last eight points had gone India’s way.

While most rallies lasted fewer than 15 shots early in the opening game, Satwik and Chirag extended the exchanges in the second, forcing the Chinese pair to work harder for every point.

A 45-shot rally, won by the Indians, helped them stretch their lead to 12-8. They soon moved ahead 17-11. The Indians then earned seven game-point opportunities when the Chinese pair found the net. Satwik sealed the game with an attacking return.

In the decider, the Chinese pair found their bearings and raced to a 4-0 lead before moving to 7-3. A smash from Chirag and a mishit from He Ji Ting helped the Indians close the gap to 5-7. A fourth straight point brought Satwik and Chirag level at 7-7. After a few flat exchanges, the Chinese pair managed to take a two-point advantage into the interval.

Back on their preferred side of the court, Satwik and Chirag kept themselves within striking distance at 11-13. It was a fight for initiative as the two pairs unleashed a series of flat, cris-cross exchanges. The Chinese were better at keeping the shuttle below the tape during the rallies and were rewarded for it, but the Indians continued to snap at their heels at 13-15 after a service error from the Chinese duo.

A short service from Satwik made it 14-16, before the Indians drew level at 16-16.

The Indians soon moved ahead 18-17 when He Ji Ting found the net. A fortunate net cord handed the Indians three match-point opportunities, and Chirag sealed the title with a smash.

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New York Liberty fans are questioning why Marine Johannès has a relatively limited role in the WNBA while she continues to deliver explosive performances for France at the FIBA World Cup.

On Friday, she teamed up with Gabby Williams to beat Hungary 99-53. The New York guard scored 17 points, made 4 of her 9 three-pointers, and added 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

She followed that up with another team-high 17-point performance against South Korea, shooting 4-of-7 from three-point range. Marine Johannès took control of the game early, scoring 14 of those points in the first half alone to pull France out of an early deficit and secure a comfortable 95-69 win.

The disparity between her role in the French national team and her workload in New York has fans completely hooked right now. She’s only averaging 8.5 points and 2.4 assists per game in the WNBA this season. She basically doubled her usual production while playing with the national squad.

While Johannès’ numbers are solid as a secondary playmaker with restrictions in New York, fans are mad on X because that limited role doesn’t show off what she can really do on the international stage.

“It’s criminal how the Liberty are wasting a shooter like Marine Johannès. Learn how to use her! Give her the d**n ball and let her cook!!!” one user wrote.

“They said that every team should have a Marine Johannès and I look at New York Liberty… they really have the luxury of Marine and yet,” another user added.

“Seeing Marine play for France, I do wonder if her being a main scorer for a team like Golden State would unlock Marine’s true game and propel the Valks offense,” a third user penned.

“Marine Johannès is wasting away with the New York Liberty and I cannot wait until she goes to a team who will know how to use her,” the fourth user commented.

“I’m just imagining Marine in a Liberty uniform but I remember who our coach is,” the fifth user noted.

That last comment takes a jab at the Liberty’s coaching staff and captures the overall sentiment in the WNBA community after Marine Johannès’ back-to-back strong performances.

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Gabby Williams and Marine Johannès are France’s new power couple

Marine Johannès’ World Cup run alongside Williams has drawn significant attention. A broadcaster recently referred to the pair as a “power couple” for France, saying,

“The power couple for Les Bleues. They hit seven threes. 15 total for France.”

Williams is also having her best scoring season in the WNBA, averaging 14.3 points per game for the Golden State Valkyries. This strong stretch abroad reinforces what she can do when she controls the offense.

Neither player has addressed the debate around Marine Johannès’ usage in New York since the win over Hungary. However, the numbers out of Berlin continue to fuel the conversation as Team France next faces Nigeria.

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