If there was a moment that announced the Big Ten's arrival as college football's top conference, it wasn't Ohio State's capturing of last season's national title, Michigan's hiring of Jim Harbaugh or even Mark Dantonio's improbable and ongoing run through the 2015 campaign.
Rather, it was the unlikely words of an ESPN analyst that did the most to make some wonder whether the Big Ten had truly dethroned the SEC as America's best league.
"Quite frankly," Paul Finebaum said on Sunday's College Football Playoff rankings reveal pre-show. "Being in SEC country, this is hard to say, but the Big Ten has been the best conference in college football this year.