Danny Kanell is nothing if not consistent.<\/p>\n
The former Florida State quarterback has bounced around to several jobs and several networks over his media career, but one thing has never changed: Kanell\u2019s criticism of the SEC. Specifically, the propaganda and brand-building around the conference is put forth by college football media.<\/p>\n
And coming off a quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff in which the SEC\u2019s two most recent national champions were both knocked out of the bracket in shocking fashion, Kanell is back on his hobby horse. On his SiriusXM show on Friday, the host called out the media and fans moving the goalposts to continually spotlight the SEC, and argued that the CFP committee and others need to realize that the conference is not as deep or strong as it is made out to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have deferred to the SEC as the deepest conference in college football this year. But it\u2019s interesting how we have kind of moved the goal posts a little bit. Because for a long time, all we heard about was national championships,\u201d Kanell said on Dusty & Danny.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut now that we\u2019ve had two years with Big Ten champions, all of a sudden it\u2019s, \u2018They\u2019re not that deep. They don\u2019t have that deep a team. Such an easy road.\u2019 Now we\u2019re looking at one more team remaining in Ole Miss, who is by the odds-makers the fourth-best team of this Playoff, can we remind people of this outcome? So that the next time we\u2019re selecting teams for the College Football Playoff, we just don\u2019t defer and give the SEC five or even six (teams).\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI get that your schedule is tough, but is it so much tougher that we should manipulate the Playoffs so that you guys have an incredibly unfair advantage to have that many teams in there?@dannykanell<\/a> sounds off that the SEC should no longer be rewarded with the most CFP teams. pic.twitter.com\/9zYZ0Y8act<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) January 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n This year, five SEC teams made the Playoff: Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Alabama. Some made cases for Texas and even Vanderbilt to get in.<\/p>\n Once the games got underway, we watched as Miami beat A&M and Indiana blew out Alabama. The supposedly inferior Ole Miss beat Georgia.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, independent Notre Dame<\/a> and Big 12 second-place finisher BYU<\/a> missed the Playoff entirely. Of course, the two Group of Five teams played a role<\/a>, as did Duke winning the ACC. But overall, the field ultimately appeared to be far more balanced and filled with parity than some SEC proponents might argue.<\/p>\n Kanell believes this should ultimately force committee voters and everyone in the sport to reconsider how much value is placed on the SEC beating itself up during conference play going forward. For instance, Alabama\u2019s losses to Oklahoma and Georgia were seemingly weighed differently<\/a> than BYU\u2019s losses to Texas Tech or Notre Dame\u2019s loss to Miami.<\/p>\n Asked Kanell: \u201cI get that your schedule is tough, but is it so much tougher that we should just manipulate the Playoff so that you guys have an incredibly unfair advantage to have that many teams in there?\u201d<\/p>\n While it will be hard for the CFP or any future postseason structure to escape the financial influence and sway the SEC wields over college football, the tide appears to be changing on the field. And while it is not surprising that Kanell would be among the first to call it out, at some point, decision-makers may come to appreciate the growing parity in the sport.<\/p>\n \t