Bret Bielema takes jab at SEC, CFP committee after beating Nebraska
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The longstanding feud between the SEC and Big Ten has reached a fever pitch in recent years, fueled by perceptions that pollsters and major networks such as ESPN are in bed with the the former and show them preferential treatment.
That tension has prompted coaches and prominent figures across the Big Ten to take more and more not-so-subtle shots at their SEC counterpart, and Illinois head coach Bret Bielema joined in on the action Friday evening after his team knocked off the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
“Credit to Nebraska, really good football team… Nebraska is a very prideful program,” Bielema said (per Illinois insider Glenn Kinley). “We’ve had a little five game series with them now and we’ve been on the right side four times… 6-3 and we beat another 5-3 team. If we were in the SEC we’d probably be a top 15 [ranked] team.”
Bielema’s comments were a clear reference to the latest College Football Playoff rankings, which were released Tuesday and featured several highly ranked SEC programs with multiple losses. The initial rankings sparked widespread criticism of the selection committee, with many accusing it of showing favoritism toward the SEC.
Bielema, who also coached at Arkansas from 2013-2017, is no stranger to stirring the pot, and Friday’s win over a Big Ten rival gave him the perfect opportunity to take another shot at the conference he once called home.
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