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SMU football head coach Rhett Lashlee took a championship shot at the SEC. The now fourth-year head coach with the Mustangs has completely revived this historic program to heights it hadn't seen since the early 1980s. SMU's first season in the ACC was an undeniable success, as the 2024 team advanced to the ACC Championship game and made it all the way to the College Football Playoff. The season ended against Penn State, and now Lashlee will look to prove that his program has staying power.
Two teams from the ACC Conference made the twelve-team field in 2024, with both teams, SMU and Clemson, falling in the first round. This conference, therefore, has its critics, which led Lashlee to go on the offensive against the SEC during ACC Media Days. The Mustangs' head coach gave this controversial statement to Sports Business Journal college sports reporter Ben Portnoy.
“The SEC has had the same six schools win the championship since 1964. Not a single one has been different since 1964. That’s top-heavy to me. That’s not depth.”
To be fair to the SEC, six schools winning a national title since 1964 is a respectable number of teams, and the conference has racked up 30 national titles over that span. In comparison, during that same period, the ACC has won seven championships among three teams: Clemson, Florida State, and Georgia Tech. For both conferences, there are newcomers such as Oklahoma, Texas, Miami, and Pittsburgh that won it all over that time as well.
Still, there was a time when Alabama was running through the SEC on a yearly basis, and fans of teams from the conference were predicating its success on the Crimson Tide's accomplishments. However, it has evened out more during the past few seasons, especially with Nick Saban now officially retired. But the ACC does deserve respect and certainly has a few teams that could make the College Football Playoff in 2025. Clemson and Miami will likely be in the preseason top 10, and SMU football is returning several key players, including quarterback Kevin Jennings.
The Mustangs have an interesting schedule, with two early Big 12 opponents on the slate: Baylor and TCU. After that, Rhett Lashlee's team will face all the on-paper contenders in the ACC, visiting Clemson halfway through the season and hosting Miami a few weeks later. Overall, this group will have another opportunity to build an intriguing resume that the College Football Playoff Selection Committee will have to consider. Lashlee's statement might not entirely be fair, but he's simply defending his conference, which is looking to compete with the likes of the SEC and Big Ten.
