Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo eviscerates Big Ten having four in Top 5 of latest College Football Playoff rankings

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo couldn’t believe the Big Ten had four of the top five teams in the country in the latest College Football Playoff.

Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana are in the top five, with No. 3 Texas being the outlier. Russo was more irate about Penn State and Indiana being in that group, while acknowledging Oregon and Ohio State’s skill level.

He went off on Wednesday’s First Take.

“The Big Ten stinks,” Russo said. “South Carolina in the SEC would win the Big Ten. I mean, I know Ohio State and Oregon are pretty good, but the Big Ten, I mean Penn State, how is Penn State fourth? Penn State, who never beats anybody, and who got drilled by Ohio State at home, and they got drilled, they’re fourth in this poll. At least Indiana hasn’t lost a game yet. The Big Ten, think about it: Rutgers stinks. Minnesota stinks, Illinois, UCLA … Iowa just lost at UCLA for crying out loud. Purdue is awful, and Michigan State stinks.”

Russo circled back towards the SEC, which he believes is the best conference in college football once again.

“Then look at the SEC with teams who are not even ranked in the top 12: Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina, the aforementioned Kentucky, Vanderbilt is pretty good. I mean, my goodness, gracious,” Russo said. “Think about it. They put four teams in the top five in the Big Ten, and that conference is awful for college football. I mean, Paulie, Penn State, which is an embarrassment … they’re the fourth best team in the country? Let’s have Penn State play Georgia, and ask Vegas what the line would be. Georgia will be a 10 point favorite in that game for crying out loud. That’s what drives me crazy.”

Oregon and Ohio State played a one-score game and are generally considered two of the best teams in college football. And yes, they’re in the Big Ten.

Penn State was criticized for its loss to Ohio State, but dominated Washington the weekend after. Indiana is the biggest surprise in college football, cruising at 10-0 into their final two games.

So perhaps the Big Ten is actually really good, compared to teams in the SEC beating each other up. On the flip side, perhaps they’re only beating each other up because of how good each team is.

The good news is, there are still a few games to sort all of this out.