The ACC Media Days gave us a lot of food for thought. A lot of questions, speculations, doubts. The Belichick takeover was a hot topic. Not to forget the anticipated nine-game schedule talks. Coming off an undefeated conference record, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee also snatched headlines. But maybe for the reasons he did not intend, or did he?
“It’s (SEC)top-heavy to me,” Lashlee said at the ACC Media Days. The context? Schedule depth and a 16-team playoff. Although his focus was on advocating ACC’s tough schedule, his jab might’ve lit a fire he didn’t intend to stoke. Paul Finebaum, the SEC defender-in-chief, retored in his “classic-Paul-Finebaum” style. He came out swinging, calling SMU the ‘worst program’ in CFB history. But the saga was far yet from being over. Just when the Mustangs HC thought he’d made his point and moved on, another ESPN heavyweight jumped in. Contrary to Finebaum, Scott Van Pelt isn’t known for his rants and outlandish takes. The face of the Sportscenter is calm, measured person.
“Oh, who was it that that’s who was the coach? It was Rhett Lashlee that said, “Oh, there’s only been six teams from the SEC that have won all these years,” Scott Van Pelt said in a conversation with Stanford Steve on ESPN. “Like, oh, only six? Come on, Rhett. I like you. Yeah, I like you. What are you talking about? I used to be ACC Scotty.” The SEC has been the most competitive conference in the college football circuit. Although Kentucky and Ole Miss clinched the natty from earlier eras, its dominance in the last 25 years can’t be questioned. Alabama and Georgia sit at the top spot. But we’ve also had Florida Gators, Auburn, LSU and Tennessee. Each got a chance to touch the natty.
Having six different teams win a national championship is, in fact, a sign of incredible depth, not a weakness. “There ain’t six in that league. Okay. Never has been ever. Six. Like, six isn’t enough? That’s a boatload of teams, man. I didn’t understand how that made a point that was negative about the SEC,” Van Pelt added.
What about the ACC? Well, surely not six. Despite their “tough” schedule. The B1G has more of a say in the matter than any other conference.
Paul Finebaum lashes out at SMU’s head coach
Let’s take you through a brief timeline of events. It all started at the ACC Media Event. Rhett Lashlee had some opinions. Some really strong opinions that didn’t sit well with Paul Finebaum.
During the media event, the SMU HC talked about the tough schedule, compared ACC and SEC—a jibe at its former conference. “You look at our league. We had like four 10-win teams, two playoff teams, a handful of nine-win teams, 13 bowl teams. I mean, there’s just not a lot of easy wins on the schedule. And there’s other leagues that claim depth, but like the SEC’s had the same six schools win the championship since 1964. Same six. Not a single one has been different since 1964. It’s top-heavy to me.” But Finebaum wasn’t having it.
The following day, the ESPN analyst appeared on the “Get Up” show. The host Mike Greenberg teed up Finebaum, and the latter didn’t hold his punches.
“Mr. (Rhett) Lashlee, first of all, I think Alabama has won about 11 national championships in that period that he laid out, but that’s not even the main point.” The “Voice of the SEC,” as he is known, then went on to SMU’s infamous scandal that shook the program to its core, leading the Tigers to yearn for a bowl appearance for 22 years. “You know what happened at SMU? They shut the program down. SMU is the most corrupt program in the history of college football.” But that wasn’t the end of the story.
A couple of days later, Lashlee makes an appearance on “The Paul Finebaum show” and talks about why he said what he said. “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. He added, “It’s just hard to argue parity if that’s the case. 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.”
The two agreed on some points. Lashlee got his points through. It looked like the end of the matter until Scott Van Pelt jumped in. More reactions incoming? You never know with the SEC head coaches.
The post SMU’s Rhett Lashlee Pressed by Another ESPN Vet After Paul Finebaum’s ‘Embarrasing’ Call appeared first on EssentiallySports.
