@WillieTheTiger@AriWasserman@TigerWill06 As a Mizzou alum, Illinois had a better strength of record in 24 and 25. If Illinois was on the schedule, it wouldn't be an obvious win anymore. THAT was Ari's whole point, that the middle class of SEC wasn't head and shoulders better than Big Ten's middle class.
This benign and obvious point upset other members of the Mizzou fanbase so much that I was BLOCKED from this thread. 😂 Unbelievably soft and disappointing behavior.
Ari, I don't know how you engage with people willfully misinterpreting you on a daily basis, godspeed.
The hardest thing about Twitter is getting dragged into irrelevant and erroneous conversations about something you never intended. Maybe Mizzou would have beaten Illinois last year. Maybe not. I don’t know. My only point is that the perception the SEC receives is unbalanced based on conference norms that used to be, but no longer are, true. That’s it.
@AriWasserman@MaggieLJohnson For what it's worth, at least some Mizzou fans understand what you said and agree with you -- it is no longer a sure thing that the middle class of SEC stands above the middle class of Big 10; how much closer Illinois and Mizzou obviously are now vs 10 years ago is proof!
@MaggieLJohnson@AriWasserman Generally, tone is hard to read over text so I'll give you benefit of doubt :)
But I think your point of "Mizzou is a better program than Illinois" does not really contradict Ari's "it's not clear that the 8th best SEC team smokes the 8th best Big 10 team anymore" point.
@AriWasserman@MaggieLJohnson Three fellow Mizzou alumni and I did our "SEC/Big 10 cousins" comparisons this week and were 4/4 in agreeing that Mizzou's comp is Illinois. Weird to see this much vitriol sent your way over a very benign point -- 8th best in SEC isn't obviously better than 8th best in Big 10 now
@MaggieLJohnson@UNC_and_CFB@AriWasserman Beyond the eye test, objectively Illinois finished 2024 (11 vs 12) and 2025 (18 vs 24) with a better strength of record.
I went to both schools and love them both, Ari's main point that the 8th best SEC school (MIZ) isn't clearly better than 8th best Big 10 school (ILL) is valid
@bod25mike@AriWasserman THANK YOU - I got my undergrad degree from Mizzou and grad degree from Illinois; I follow both closely, and Illinois was a more physical, talented team in both 2024 and 2025. Crazy this is a debate. At worst, they're equal, which is Ari's point!!
https://t.co/G1V7SglS3Q Really cool video series started here -- sim of NBA History where all expansion teams are rejected! Going to be fascinating to see how teams look in the modern era with so much talent jammed on a more limited number of roster spots!
https://t.co/xhPgrDlTof 16 different managers joined up for a SEC league -- find out who they "recruited" (aka drafted) and get ready for an epic, 162 game season between these college powerhouses!
@AmericanVeter25@realGMONEYSWAG@ChildersRadio@KirkHerbstreit By that logic, then Herbie should've waited to criticize Indiana until the last Big 10 team exists, as Oregon, Ohio State or Penn State may provide the same answer.
I think both Tennessee and Indiana earned a shot at the Natty with their seasons, been sad to see this fallout
It is wild how CFB struggles to embrace the underdog. Indiana is the perfect advertisement for a new playoff - fan bases have hope, legitimate hope, to get invited to something they've never been given access to. Every time that team has fallen though we bury them. Fast lol.
And as much as I hate to admit it, FSU was right about Herbstreit.
Whether it’s Herbstreit’s personal “Simping” for the SEC, or an actual conspiracy, for some reason or another Herbstreit is pushing actual SEC Propaganda on a WEEKLY basis and it is Disgusting behavior folks
Paul Finebaum's (@finebaum) position on Alabama and the playoff committee is the biggest threat to college football imaginable
Story: https://t.co/TARJZDLmak