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The conference superiority debate between the Big Ten and the SEC has raged for years. And LSU coach Lane Kiffin has an idea that could finally provide more data points to consider. Given that the SEC and the Big Ten dominate the college football world after conference realignment, much of the top contenders compete in marquee regular-season games, bowls, or the College Football Playoff. But there has never been a systematic setup where the two superconferences can prove who is best on the field against each other. After years at the top of the mountain, the SEC has been firmly displaced by the Big Ten, with Michigan, Ohio State, and Indiana winning the last three national championships. But despite that fact (and the Big Ten’s superior CFP and bowl record), SEC folks remain steadfast in their belief that they have the deepest and strongest league. How could that be proven? In a Big Ten-SEC Challenge. In comments to Men’s Journal, Lane Kiffin advocated taking one week early in the regular season to hold games between the two leagues. Not only would it be great football, but it would also actually allow for more trustworthy comparisons and evaluations of the teams by providing more common opponents. “I think, when you look at the NFL Draft, there’s so many great players from the two leagues,” Kiffin said. “The SEC for a long while was kind of king, and then the top of the Big Ten, especially after adding Oregon, has become really strong. “I think both leagues have great places to play, great teams, highly competitive. I actually wish they’d take one week early in the year and we’d all play each other. Everybody wants to compare who is better, and that’s really hard to do when you play different opponents. It’s not like the NFL where it’s easier to compare teams because you have so many common opponents.” The Big Ten-ACC Challenge was a hallmark of the college basketball calendar for years on ESPN. But when the Big Ten linked up with Fox, NBC, and CBS, the SEC replaced them. Truth be told, the ACC-SEC version lacks the hype and the buzz of its predecessor because part of the fun in college sports is the inter-regional rivalries. An annual Big Ten-SEC Challenge would be one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar. Could you imagine a single week where Ohio State plays Alabama, Michigan plays Texas, Indiana plays Georgia, and so on down the list? It would be must-see TV and instantly become one of the highlights of the sporting calendar. But before anyone gets too excited, the reality is that the two conferences can agree on absolutely nothing, even though they have almost all the power over the sport’s future direction. Getting Greg Sankey and Tony Pettiti to agree to this would be miraculous. Then you add in the logistical challenges of the competing networks, and there’s a better chance of the Big Ten being passed by the MAC and the SEC being supplanted by the Sun Belt than a Big Ten-SEC Challenge coming to life anytime soon. But for now, at least we can all dream.