SMU Coach Rhett Lashley on ACC and CFP

[LT 1967]

Interesting article below concerning SMU Coach Lashley's comments on CFP and ACC Bias. I have copied 3 paragraphs below, but total article is worth a read.

ACC teams have posted a 2-5 record against SEC teams so far this year, including Cal's win over Auburn and Miami's win over Florida. But the conference is 3-1 against Big Ten teams: Boston College beat Michigan State, Duke beat Northwestern, UNC beat Minnesota and UVA lost to Maryland. SMU's resume within the conference includes wins over Pittsburgh (7-2) and Louisville (6-3), with the latter still being ranked No. 19.

"When other leagues beat each other up internally, they're considered a deep, solid league, but when we beat up internally, we're considered a weak league," Lashlee said. "When Kentucky goes and beats Ole Miss, Arkansas goes and beats Tennessee, South Carolina goes and beats [Texas] A&M, Vandy beats Alabama; that's considered a deep league.

"When Georgia Tech beats Miami, right when Louisville goes on the road and beats Clemson and UVA goes on the road and beats Pitt; we're not considered a deep league. I just want our league to get the same respect that everyone else gets."

MSN

 

[stinger78]

Interesting article below concerning SMU Coach Lashley's comments on CFP and ACC Bias. I have copied 3 paragraphs below, but total article is worth a read.

ACC teams have posted a 2-5 record against SEC teams so far this year, including Cal's win over Auburn and Miami's win over Florida. But the conference is 3-1 against Big Ten teams: Boston College beat Michigan State, Duke beat Northwestern, UNC beat Minnesota and UVA lost to Maryland. SMU's resume within the conference includes wins over Pittsburgh (7-2) and Louisville (6-3), with the latter still being ranked No. 19.

"When other leagues beat each other up internally, they're considered a deep, solid league, but when we beat up internally, we're considered a weak league," Lashlee said. "When Kentucky goes and beats Ole Miss, Arkansas goes and beats Tennessee, South Carolina goes and beats [Texas] A&M, Vandy beats Alabama; that's considered a deep league.

"When Georgia Tech beats Miami, right when Louisville goes on the road and beats Clemson and UVA goes on the road and beats Pitt; we're not considered a deep league. I just want our league to get the same respect that everyone else gets."

MSN

I feel your pain, Rhett, but they left our undefeated conference champ out of the playoff last year. It is what it is, but knock yourself out, coach.

 

[stech81]

Interesting article below concerning SMU Coach Lashley's comments on CFP and ACC Bias. I have copied 3 paragraphs below, but total article is worth a read.

ACC teams have posted a 2-5 record against SEC teams so far this year, including Cal's win over Auburn and Miami's win over Florida. But the conference is 3-1 against Big Ten teams: Boston College beat Michigan State, Duke beat Northwestern, UNC beat Minnesota and UVA lost to Maryland. SMU's resume within the conference includes wins over Pittsburgh (7-2) and Louisville (6-3), with the latter still being ranked No. 19.

"When other leagues beat each other up internally, they're considered a deep, solid league, but when we beat up internally, we're considered a weak league," Lashlee said. "When Kentucky goes and beats Ole Miss, Arkansas goes and beats Tennessee, South Carolina goes and beats [Texas] A&M, Vandy beats Alabama; that's considered a deep league.

"When Georgia Tech beats Miami, right when Louisville goes on the road and beats Clemson and UVA goes on the road and beats Pitt; we're not considered a deep league. I just want our league to get the same respect that everyone else gets."

MSN

I agree not that it will do any good

 

[cpf2001]

Someone needs to be beating the drum.

And before the debate about how accurate it is for any given year - how often in the last twenty years have you seen an SEC coach just say “hey our best teams should be ignored, this is a down year”? Beating the drum constantly hasn’t hurt them.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Glad he spoke up. He gets it.

 

[stinger78]

Glad he spoke up. He gets it.

Didn’t take him long, did it?

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I want to double down on beating this drum. This drum has been silent for too many years.

 

[stinger78]

I want to double down on beating this drum. This drum has been silent for too many years.

We had our own telling us to shut up when we were yelling about the F$U snub last year. There tends to be some self-loathing among the GT faithful. I get it… a lot of us were major nerds with no friends growing up, but it seems pretty unhealthy to me.

Just my $.02 worth.

 

[stech81]

a lot of us were major nerds with no friends growing up

Not me I had one friend but he was an imaginary guy.

 

[Root4GT]

Interesting article below concerning SMU Coach Lashley's comments on CFP and ACC Bias. I have copied 3 paragraphs below, but total article is worth a read.

ACC teams have posted a 2-5 record against SEC teams so far this year, including Cal's win over Auburn and Miami's win over Florida. But the conference is 3-1 against Big Ten teams: Boston College beat Michigan State, Duke beat Northwestern, UNC beat Minnesota and UVA lost to Maryland. SMU's resume within the conference includes wins over Pittsburgh (7-2) and Louisville (6-3), with the latter still being ranked No. 19.

"When other leagues beat each other up internally, they're considered a deep, solid league, but when we beat up internally, we're considered a weak league," Lashlee said. "When Kentucky goes and beats Ole Miss, Arkansas goes and beats Tennessee, South Carolina goes and beats [Texas] A&M, Vandy beats Alabama; that's considered a deep league.

"When Georgia Tech beats Miami, right when Louisville goes on the road and beats Clemson and UVA goes on the road and beats Pitt; we're not considered a deep league. I just want our league to get the same respect that everyone else gets."

MSN

He is whining. Let’s have a good ACC team beat a good SEC Team or B1G team for a change.

 

[stinger78]

^^^ This.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

He is whining. Let’s have a good ACC team beat a good SEC Team or B1G team for a change.

That hasn’t made any difference in the past.

I think SMU comes to this with fresh eyes and sees what’s right in front of us.

 

[stinger78]

It’s happened just about every season for the last decade:

2023: F$U (13-1) beat LSU (10-3)
2022: F$U (10-3) beat LSU (10-4)
2019: Clem (13-1) beat TAMU (8-5)
2018: Clem (15-0) beat TAMU (9-4) and Bama (14-1)
2017: Clem (14-2) beat Auburn (10-4)
2016: GA Tech (9-4) beat UGAg (8-5)
2015: F$U (10-3) beat Florida (10-4)
2014: GA Tech (11-3) beat UGAg (10-3) and MSU (10-3)

 

[Root4GT]

That hasn’t made any difference in the past.

I think SMU comes to this with fresh eyes and sees what’s right in front of us.

Look at SMU's opponents and who is a really good team? Is BYU who they lost to, maybe. Next best is 6-4 Louisville. They have zero room to gripe!

 

[cpf2001]

Look at SMU's opponents and who is a really good team? Is BYU who they lost to, maybe. Next best is 6-4 Louisville. They have zero room to gripe!

The gripe is that Indiana isn’t getting that same scrutiny very often. Or Penn State. Or TAMU. Preseason rankings made us think those teams have more good wins than they actually do.

 

[Root4GT]

The gripe is that Indiana isn’t getting that same scrutiny very often. Or Penn State. Or TAMU. Preseason rankings made us think those teams have more good wins than they actually do.

SMU is ranked #14 and A&M is #15. No room to gripe. Penn State does have a preseason advantage. They have done nothing to lose that advantage with only 1 loss to Ohio State by 7 points. Indiana was like SMU until the last 2 weeks. They are undefeated where as SMU has 1 loss. Indiana gets it's first test next week at OSU. SMU's best wins are over 7-3 Pitt and 6-4 Louisville. When they get to the ACC Championship Game they can talk.

What team in the ACC has a high quality OOC win this year? There are very few high quality OOC wins this year by anyone in any conference. UGA;s drubbing of Clemson is likely the best OOC win and that one impacts the whole ACC negatively.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

We always seem to argue two things simultaneously. One is whether the ACC needed to be more highly regarded in years where their records were good. The other argument is whether the SEC beating the drum that they are a top conference did any good or not.

In the chicken and egg argument I will forever come down on the side of the SEC proclaiming they were a dominant conference long before they became one. Hence, I’m ready for the ACC to follow the same playbook. The recruiting and the wins tend to follow once people buy into the PR job. Then, when Miami or FSU flatten some SEC team it’s looked at as verification rather than anomaly.

 

[CEB]

SMU is ranked #14 and A&M is #15. No room to gripe. Penn State does have a preseason advantage. They have done nothing to lose that advantage with only 1 loss to Ohio State by 7 points. Indiana was like SMU until the last 2 weeks. They are undefeated where as SMU has 1 loss. Indiana gets it's first test next week at OSU. SMU's best wins are over 7-3 Pitt and 6-4 Louisville. When they get to the ACC Championship Game they can talk.

What team in the ACC has a high quality OOC win this year? There are very few high quality OOC wins this year by anyone in any conference. UGA;s drubbing of Clemson is likely the best OOC win and that one impacts the whole ACC negatively.

Talk to me about Indiana and Penn State good wins. Obviously they’ve been lighting up some solid teams, right?

 

[stinger78]

The gripe is that Indiana isn’t getting that same scrutiny very often. Or Penn State. Or TAMU. Preseason rankings made us think those teams have more good wins than they actually do.

The preaeason polls help perpetuate The Narrative. Then knuckleheads repeat it, per the above.

 

[stinger78]

The SECheat was *not* a dominant *conference* from “way back.” They lost often (heck we beat them pretty often), but they often had the best top *team.* The ACC had Clemson, Maryland, UVA, GA Tech, UNCheat, and F$U all who had very good teams in the mid-1980’s to the mid-2000’s.