Cam Newton appeared on First Take on Friday morning and said the quiet part out loud.

The former NFL MVP turned ESPN analyst made the case that a three-loss SEC team should make the College Football Playoff over one or two-loss teams from other conferences, citing strength of schedule as the deciding factor.

“If Ole Miss loses again, do you take them out of the College Football Playoff versus a one-loss team?” Newton said. “See, that’s the thing, and we have to start putting emphasis on strength of schedule. It’s so disappointing when you see a team that has not played the level of talent. And I know it’s not against them, it’s already inserted years ahead, but those types of things you have to consider. I would take a three-loss SEC team before I took a two-loss or even a one-loss team from some other conference.”

Cam Newton says he thinks the College Football Playoff should take three-loss teams from the SEC over two or one-loss teams from other conferences. pic.twitter.com/YZDYTp3tM7

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 24, 2025

Ole Miss is currently 6-1 after losing to Georgia on October 18. Newton’s hypothetical involves them losing again — giving them two losses — and still being more deserving than teams with better records from other conferences.

This isn’t exactly new territory for the Auburn product, either.

Last December, Newton called out SMU, Arizona State, Indiana, and Boise State by name on First Take, telling them to “understand your weight class” and claiming nobody wanted to see those programs in the playoff. He also said Notre Dame didn’t earn the right to be in the CFP despite the Irish eventually making the National Championship.

.@CameronNewton didn’t hold back his thoughts on the 12-team CFP format 🍿 pic.twitter.com/4kf3DW3BIF

— First Take (@FirstTake) December 6, 2024

The argument Newton’s pushing — that scheduling matters more than results — has become gospel among ESPN’s college football voices. The network spent last season advocating for three-loss Alabama over 11-1 Indiana and 11-2 SMU. When those teams made the playoff and Alabama didn’t, ESPN’s college football voices spent the entire postseason making the case that the committee got it wrong.

The CFP selection committee responded by changing its formula to emphasize strength of schedule over wins.

Then, Indiana lost to Notre Dame in the first round, and critics like Lane Kiffin immediately jumped on social media to suggest his 9-3 Ole Miss team should have been included instead. Never mind that Ole Miss lost at home to a 4-8 Kentucky team that went 1-7 in the SEC. Or that Indiana destroyed everyone on its schedule except Ohio State and Notre Dame, both teams that played for a National Championship.

Newton’s take is the logical endpoint of a propaganda campaign that’s been building for years. College football used to be the one American sport where the only thing that mattered was winning. Lose once, and you’re probably out of the national title conversation. Lose twice and you knew you’d be settling for a Sugar Bowl or Cotton Bowl berth.

Those days are gone. The 12-team playoff has made room for everyone with name recognition and a pulse. And ESPN’s most prominent voices have made it clear which teams they believe deserve those spots, regardless of what happens on the field.

Even College GameDay dedicated an entire segment earlier this season to arguing that who you play is more important than whether you win games. After Texas lost to Ohio State in Week 1 this season, ESPN’s Football Power Index kept Texas ranked No. 1 despite being 0-1.

Newton’s comments came during a segment where First Take was broadcasting from Birmingham, Alabama — SEC country. As an Auburn man, Newton has obvious ties to the conference. But his position isn’t about conference loyalty or even honest evaluation of team quality. It’s about maintaining a hierarchy in which certain programs are rewarded for their brand, regardless of what they do on Saturdays.

There’s value in examining strength of schedule. Sometimes, a 10-2 team that played powerhouses deserves consideration over an 11-1 team that played cupcakes. But Newton isn’t making a nuanced argument about close cases. He’s saying three losses should trump one or two if you’ve got the right jersey on.

The irony — if you want to call it that — is that Newton and the same Ole Miss team he spent Friday morning advocating for are trying to spin the same narrative. Lane Kiffin recently suggested the CFP committee should ask “What Would Vegas Do?” and use betting spreads to determine playoff teams instead of on-field results.

Lane Kiffin had the perfect response when asked to give advice to the CFP selection committee: “What would Vegas do? They’re the best at what they do, by far, way better than any committee, way better than anybody.”

— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) October 22, 2025

Both are essentially arguing that perception should matter more than what happens on the field.

Newton’s entitled to his opinion. He’s also entitled to be wrong. Because at some point, someone has to care about the teams that actually showed up and won the football games they played. Even if those wins came against opponents ESPN doesn’t consider worthy of prime-time billing.

Otherwise, what’s the point of keeping score?