SMU coach Rhett Lashlee made one of the most pointed remarks from the 2025 college football conference media days circuit with his assertion that the SEC is “top heavy” and lacks depth. And a week after he took aim at the league in his argument against one of the proposed College Football Playoff expansion models, he doubled down on what he called a “historical fact.”
Lashlee argued the SEC should not receive more automatic bids over another if — or when– the CFP expands to 14 or 16 teams. One such proposal would reward the Big Ten and SEC with four spots apiece, compared to just two each from the Big 12 and ACC.
“All I said was a comment, and unfortunately, it’s a factual comment: that the same six schools have won that league for the last 60 years,” Lashlee said Monday on The Paul Finebaum Show. “It’s just hard to argue parity if that’s the case. Now, look, I’m not necessarily saying the SEC is better or worse. I think the SEC is, again, a league I respect. It’s done a lot of great things. But we live in a day and age where, unfortunately, we’re all forced to politick — almost like it’s a contest or a pageant — to get into the playoffs and certain things. And when that’s the case, and one league is considered to maybe need preferential treatment for bids because of their depth, we’ve gotta at least look at the facts.”
Lashlee was not the only coach from another conference to put the SEC in his crosshairs at media days. Indiana’s Curt Cignetti took a dig at the league’s scheduling philosophy, discrediting the eight-game conference schedule and ability for teams to play against FCS competition deep into the season.
“I will differentiate from what I said with what Cignetti said,” Lashlee said. “Again, I just brought up a historical fact that can be backed up by data. I didn’t come out and throw shade at the SEC scheduling when I didn’t play a Power Four team on my schedule myself.”
SMU remained on the right side of the playoff bubble last year and earned a seat at the postseason table just one year into its Power Four history. It was an outstanding job by Lashlee to compete at the sport’s highest level amid a transition from the American Conference. In the process, the Mustangs eliminated three-loss SEC and Big Ten teams from the equation.
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