Former Florida State quarterback and college football analyst Danny Kanell has a bone to pick with the SEC and ESPN.
On his Instagram page, he went on a rant about the SEC. He thinks ESPN's FPI, or Football Power Index, favors the SEC and says every conference out there should be concerned.
“Since media days, the SEC has been talking nonstop about the strength of schedule, how their teams are so much tougher than everybody else’s. Maybe that’s what they plugged into the numbers, which aren’t supposed to take in conversations or talking points, but somehow, miraculously, here we are,” he said.
Kanell added, “There’s going to be a significant push this season to keep in those teams from the SEC, despite having potentially three losses to put them into the playoff over 10-2 and, yes, even 11-1 teams,” he said. “They are terrified that they’ll only get three teams in, and once again, for the third year in a row, potentially not having a team compete for the national championship.”
Anyone who follows Kanell knows his disdain for the SEC, so his take on this shouldn’t be surprising. The ACC managed to get two teams in the College Football Playoff despite its conference having one of the weakest schedules in the country.
SMU had one of the weakest schedules in the country, and they were allowed in over several SEC schools, including Alabama, despite that fact.
It’s also interesting to note that while Kanell has all this smoke for the SEC that he didn’t have that much smoke for the Big Ten, which would also benefit from this.
Maybe Kanell should encourage his beloved ACC to play tougher schedules like both Clemson and Florida State are doing this year, and they wouldn’t have to worry about making the College Football Playoff.