Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti unleashed a fiery critique of ESPN and the College Football Playoff Selection Committee this week, accusing the network of pushing a pro-SEC narrative after the first playoff rankings sparked controversy.
“They’re given instructions on what to say, and they follow the company line,” Cignetti said on his weekly radio show about ESPN’s analysts. “SEC gets a lot of love from ESPN, you know, and all their writers that they don’t technically pay, but march to their drum.”
SEC Dominates Rankings Despite Losses
The initial CFP rankings heavily favored the SEC, placing ten conference teams in the top 25 compared to just six from the Big Ten. Most eyebrow-raising were the placements of two-loss Alabama at No. 5 and Texas at No. 7 – both ahead of higher-performing teams from other conferences.
Meanwhile, Ohio State dropped out of playoff contention entirely after a single loss to an unranked opponent, while Indiana – despite struggling against unranked teams and recently benching their starting quarterback – landed at No. 4.
Hypocrisy in the Rankings?
CFP Selection Committee Chairman Hunter Yurachek justified Notre Dame’s No. 11 ranking by citing their lack of “signature wins” – a standard seemingly not applied to Indiana, which sits seven spots higher without any marquee victories either.
ESPN holds broadcast rights to both the SEC and the College Football Playoff, fueling perceptions of potential conflicts of interest. While the SEC has been strong this season, critics argue the rankings overvalue the conference’s middle-tier teams at the expense of more deserving programs.
Cignetti’s Hoosiers may not be the most convincing standard-bearers against bias – their high ranking despite mediocre performances raises its own questions. But his comments tap into longstanding frustrations about ESPN’s outsized influence on college football narratives and the financial incentives behind them.
Source: www.breitbart.com โ https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/11/06/curt-cignetti-charges-espn-with-sec-bias-after-bizarre-college-football-playoff-ranking/