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Lane Kiffin tags College Football Playoff committee following Caleb Downs Big Ten-SEC comments

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax7 hours agoBarkleyTruax

Lane Kiffin made sure that the College Football Playoff committee saw Ohio State star Caleb Downs‘ recent comments about playing in the Big Ten vs. the SEC. The new LSU coach tagged the CFP account in a quote tweet on X ahead of conference championship’s Saturday slate.

Downs, who has played two seasons at Ohio State and one at Alabama, explained how the SEC was a bit more challenging on a weekly basis than what he’s experienced playing for the Buckeyes in the Big Ten. Kiffin seems to agree with Downs’ sentiment.

“I would definitely say in the SEC, you’re playing every week and you’re playing like top (competition) every week,” Downs said. “That was something when I was at Alabama, every week, like we’ve got Tennessee this week, LSU next week, then we’ve got Auburn. You’re playing dudes every week. That’s something you prepare your body for, prepare your mind for.

“In the Big Ten, you’re going to have 4 or 5 games maybe where you’re going to have to play high-level competition and be at your highest point. That’s the difference.”

Downs’ comments have since reignited the debate over which conference is superior heading into the postseason. The Big Ten has the top two teams in the country with undefeated No. 1 Ohio State and undefeated No. 2 Indiana. Meanwhile, the SEC has seven teams ranked in the latest CFP rankings, including five in the top 10.

His comments were not to shade his current conference, as he did go on to praise the Big Ten for recent postseason efforts over the SEC. Of course, the Big Ten has won consecutive national championships between Michigan (2023-24) and Ohio State (2024-25).

“But then again,” Downs continued. “I said that when I first got to Ohio State and then a lot of the teams that were in the Big Ten, when it came to bowl games, ended up beating the SEC teams (last season). So I feel like that kind of negated what I said.”

Since joining Ohio State, Downs has helped lead the Buckeyes to a 26-2 record, including a 12-0 start to 2025. His Buckeyes are set to compete for a Big Ten championship on Saturday night against the Hoosiers, with the winner of that game most likely receiving the No. 1 overall seed heading into the playoffs.

For Kiffin, Ole Miss is most likely in the field of 12, but will not coach the Rebels after taking the LSU job. He led Ole Miss to an 11-1 regular season, the best record in school history.