Bret Bielema Proposes 'Big Ten-SEC Challenge' for College Football

University of Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema is thinking of ways to improve college football's strength-of-schedule issue that is plaguing many teams among the top of the rankings. 

Speaking with ESPN.com's Edward Aschoff, Bielema proposed the "Big Ten vs. SEC Challenge," where each team would receive a ranking in the preseason and play a team in the opposite conference with the corresponding number during the regular season. 

Bielema expanded on it while speaking with Aschoff:

"

Let the best of the best play each other, and maybe the lower ones play each other week-in and week-out. Just reserve a week every year, it would be kind of a fun thing. People would get into that now. I've been in both leagues, and I have the utmost respect for both. It would be something kind of fun if you could just reserve that and that might eliminate the whole need for an FCS [team]. Then you schedule three other opponents that are FBS and go.

"

Bielema coached the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten for eight seasons before moving to the SEC and beginning his tenure at Arkansas. 

According to Aschoff, Bielema believes that it will help improve each team's strength of schedule, which could prove beneficial come the end of the season for teams vying for postseason spots in big bowls. 

It's become a prevalent topic among the College Football Playoff committee, and Bielema is aware of that:

"

You have to think outside the box. You really do see it come into effect [with the playoff rankings], and people are talking about it week-in and week-out. As coaches, we can't really get into it too much during the season, but people talk about all the time, and it's on TV and it's on radio, it's what's made our sport at an unprecedented high. I think if you think outside the box a little bit, even like what I just said or maybe with another conference you could maybe find some constructive ways to do away [with FCS opponents] by even making it a little more balanced. To me, that's a fun way to look at it.

"

The idea has gotten some support from Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin, who previously stated that inter-conference play could eliminate "bad losses," per Aschoff.

Eliminating FCS opponents, though, would hurt the smaller schools, as their budgets, according to Aschoff, rely on playing schools that are in the Power Five conferences. The Big Ten will not be playing FCS teams next season, but coaches in the SEC are challenging that notion.

It is just in the discussion phase, but adding games in the the regular season that pit big-conference schools against each other could only help the sport in terms of viewership and interest. Fans would much rather see Alabama play Ohio State than Charleston Southern.