Florida State is preparing to take on Georgia Tech for the ACC Championship on Saturday, but that hasn’t gotten the SEC off Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher’s mind. On Tuesday, Fisher took up cause for the ACC after the conference’s 4-0 weekend against the SEC, saying that the perception of the SEC being so much better than everyone else is a result of “brainwash(ing).”

“I’ve been in both leagues for an extensive number of years, been at the top levels of both leagues,” Fisher said during his Monday press conference. “The top teams in both leagues are very similar. Top to bottom, I think we stack up. I think the SEC is wonderful at football. But if you look at the records of certain divisions, certain sides, I think there’s a lot of parity throughout it if you want to tell the truth about it.”

Fisher, who was a defensive coordinator at Auburn and LSU, went on to say the media has built up the SEC to the point that everyone thinks they’re the best conference in the land.

“I think we all become brainwashed too, just like [the media] have become brainwashed when people tell you things sometime,” Fisher said. “I’m not saying that out of disrespect. You guys say one conference is better, but I don’t think it’s that drastic.

“It’s amazing out there how you can brainwash somebody. If you’re not careful in this country, if you won’t think for yourself, if you listen to news all the time, they’ll tell you what to think, how to think and how you do things. That’s why I say you have to make your own mind up and trust your own eyes and do it.”

Florida State is 12-0 and riding a 28-game winning streak after defeating Florida on Saturday. The Seminoles dropped out of the top spot in Sunday’s polls, falling to No.2 behind Alabama, as voters are unimpressed by their string of close wins over weaker teams. FSU was also No. 3 in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings, behind one-loss teams Alabama and Oregon. The latest rankings will be released Tuesday night.

Fisher’s media availability and comments on the SEC came as his quarterback, reigning Heisman winner Jameis Winston, was set to face a student conduct hearing stemming from December 2012 accusations that he sexually assaulted a fellow Florida State student.