Casagrande: Roasting the dumbest thing said about the SEC

This is an opinion column.

Perhaps we’ve had enough talking this month.

A third week of conference media days has pushed our concept of reality beyond healthy levels.

The BS meter was dancing Tuesday.

Now, we scoffed at Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark two weeks ago, claiming his league is the deepest in the nation. Whatever, he’s singing to his congregation. If that gets the choir going, bless their hearts.

Now, there’s SMU coach Rhett Lashlee in Charlotte applying clown makeup at the ACC’s media days.

Apparently with a straight face, the former Auburn offensive coordinator strongly insinuated the ACC is deeper than the SEC.

Like the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Yeah.

He brought a list of facts to support this.

They had four teams win 10 games last year. Two playoff teams. Thirteen played in bowl games. All that.

“There’s just not a lot of easy wins on the schedule,” Lashlee said at the league’s media days.

He took it a step further to — being serious here — look down upon the SEC.

“And there’s other leagues that claim depth,” he said. “But like, the SEC has had the same six schools win the championship since 1964. The same six. Not a single one has been different since 1964. That’s top-heavy to me. That’s not depth.”

Not a lie.

But it’s all about how you frame the truth and how you can use it to gaslight.

Here’s another.

“In the last 15 years, we’re tied for the second most championships with three with the Big Ten,” Lashlee said. “I don’t why that’s not talked about more.”

Maybe because the SEC won nine of those last 15 national championships with four different schools.

Three of those teams won national championships the same year it failed to win the conference crown (Alabama in 2011 and 2017 and Georgia in 2021).

Since 1990, four current members of the ACC have claimed national titles.

The number for the SEC? Eight.

Or we could look at last season, specifically.

The ACC only had two playoff teams because previously undefeated SMU lost in the league championship game to Clemson.

The Dabo Tigers won that ACC ring a week after losing to the sixth-highest-ranked team in the SEC, South Carolina.

The SEC was 11-3 against ACC teams last year.

Lean over and honk Lashlee’s red nose.

The champs of this ocean trench deep conference were No. 16 in the final CFP committee rankings. It was a power league whose automatic qualifier didn’t get a first-round bye. Boise State and Arizona State did.

The SEC had seven of the top 19 teams in the final CFP rankings — three of the top seven. Lashley’s Mustangs were the highest ranked at No. 10. Miami (13), Clemson (16) and Syracuse (21) were also in there.

Using ESPN’s strength of record ranking, SMU had the most impressive rating in the league last year.

It was 18th.

The SEC had seven teams ranked higher than that.

That’s top-heavy when you consider the ACC’s center of gravity.

Sit on that whoopee cushion, Rhett.

The ACC went 3-3 against Big 12 teams last year and 4-5 against the Big Ten.

Add it up and they were 10-19 against the other power conference schools. If the ACC is so deep, it wasn’t evident when the conference membership ventured outside of league play.

It’s had a losing record against the other power leagues every season since 2016.

We could make another clown joke but you get the point.

Nobody’s telling Lashlee he needs to kiss the SEC ring but to go out of his way to insult the intelligence of the college football community.

Suggesting the ACC’s depth is anywhere comparable to the SEC is foolish business.

Lashlee used a fact but ended up looking like a bozo.

We’ve all had enough talking this July.

Some clowns are better off as mimes.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.

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