I have never understood that argument. "Beat each other up more"? Both conferences will have exactly a 0.500 record in conference. In conference games, both conferences will have a winner and a loser in each game.
What is the bottom team in the Big 10 on a historical basis? Is it Indiana? I genuinely don't know, but if it is. didn't they just won the national championship?
Can someone help me understand, mathematically and completely objectively, what "beating each other up" looks like as opposed to an alternative?
One meaning of it is literal. The SEC players are bigger and stronger on average than the Big 10 players- literally hitting each other harder.
The alternative is there’s one team in a different conference with that caliber of athletes, so they don’t have the same cumulative wear and tear on their bodies.
Another meaning is that elite teams play more very good teams in the SEC than they do in the Big 10, so more opportunities to lose.
The Big 10 improved a lot when it added Washington and Oregon. The bottom of the conference is still much worse than the bottom of the SEC.
Last year, the Big 10 had 7 teams ranked 49 or worse in the Massey ratings. The SEC had 1, Mississippi state at 53. A quarter of the Big 10 was worse than the SEC’s worst team.
BIG 10 had 9 teams in the top 35 (half the conference. The SEC had 13 (of 16).
There’s no question the Big 10 was better at the top of the conference last year. There’s also no question which was deeper, and there hasn’t been in a very long time.
Edit: FPI is very comparable, but it has 7 (!!) Big 10 teams ranked below State. Half the league is 45 or worse.