The SEC is generally recognized as the preeminent conference in college football, the home of the overwhelming majority of national champions from the past 20 years and some of the most fervently fan bases in the sport.
At least one coach sees some holes in the league’s resume.
SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee took aim at the SEC’s depth at ACC media days on July 22, describing the league as “top-heavy” while noting that only six SEC teams have won the conference since 1964.
The six schools Lashlee referenced are Alabama (24 championships), Georgia (11), LSU (eight), Florida (eight), Tennessee (seven) and Auburn (seven). The number Lashlee cited, though, doesn’t include Kentucky, which the SEC credits as a co-conference champion alongside Georgia in 1976.
A team from the SEC has won the national championship 13 times since the 2006 season, with five different schools achieving the feat. That figure does not include Texas’ 2005 national championship, which came when it was a member of the Big 12 and happened nearly 20 years before it joined the SEC.
Conference superiority has emerged as a persistent subject of arguments in college football this century. It has only intensified with the advent of the 12-team College Football Playoff, in which the number of at-large bids a league receives can depend largely on the perception of its strength and competitiveness.
Lashlee’s team was at the center of the first major debate of the 12-team playoff era, with the Mustangs earning an at-large berth to the event after losing to Clemson in the ACC championship game. SMU got in over several SEC teams — Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina — that were just below it in the playoff selection committee rankings.
During the news conference portion of his appearance at ACC media days, Lashlee touted the ACC, saying it’s one of three conferences that has had a current member win a national championship since 1990, with the SEC and Big Ten being the others. Current ACC programs have won seven national championships during that 35-year stretch, though Miami’s two titles came while it was competing in the Big East.
“I don’t know why that’s not talked about more,” Lashlee said. “We have national brands. We’ve won championships. The revenue is almost double who’s fourth. We have our own network, the competition, the investment. I just think it speaks for itself. Most people want to see things decided on the field, so let’s let it happen that way.
“I don’t think there’s any question that if (the playoff) stayed at 12 (teams), we’re every year a multi-bid league. Miami should have been last year at 10-2. There’s no question they were one of the top 12 teams in America. But it does get tough, especially when you have a human committee making decisions.”