SMU's Rhett Lashlee Calls Out SEC, Blasts Conference's 'Depth' amid CFP Bracket Debate

SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee did not exactly hold back when talking about the SEC on Tuesday.

"The same six schools have won the SEC since 1964," he told reporters. "Not a single one is different from 1964. That's top heavy, that's not depth."

While it is a head-turning quote, it's technically not true considering the SEC lists Georgia and Kentucky as co-champions for the 1976 season. That means there have been seven winners since 1964 with Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Florida and Tennessee also taking home titles.

What's more, the SEC wasn't always the 16-team behemoth it is today in the era of conference realignment and expansion. The league had just 10 teams for much of the time frame between now and the 1964 season, meaning six isn't that particularly low of a number.

Had powerhouse programs such as Texas and Oklahoma been in the league for the last 40 years, they each likely would have won a conference crown at some point as well. That would have only increased the number.

It is also hard to argue with the SEC's relative depth compared to other conferences in recent history considering eight of the league's current schools have won national titles in the last 30 years counting the Longhorns and Sooners.

By comparison, there have only been a combined seven schools from every other conference—Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, Florida State, USC, Miami and Nebraska—to win a national championship during the last 30 years.

Yes, Texas and Oklahoma were not in the SEC when they won their most recent national titles. But they are now, and Lashlee's comments were made in a way to disparage the current iteration of the league as the future of the College Football Playoff and how many auto-bids for presumed powerhouse conferences like the SEC and Big Ten will be available is up for debate.

Lashlee would have been better off focusing on immediate history, as the SEC is just 2-5 in the College Football Playoff with zero national championships in the last two years. The Big Ten has an argument as the current best conference with Michigan and Ohio State taking home the last two national titles.

The Big Ten also went 3-0 against the SEC in the last two CFP.

Still, the SEC is widely viewed as one of the premier conferences in the sport in large part because of the number of teams that have won national titles in recent history even if Lashlee questioned its overall depth.