A FUMING college football coach slammed ESPN for their “rigged” power rankings just days before the start of the 2025 season.
SMU boss Rhett Lashlee was left seething over the recent numbers which saw his Mustangs side ranked the 19th best team in the country.
SMU coach Rhett Lashlee has slammed the latest power rankings from ESPN[/caption]
The team was elevated to the Power Four when the Atlantic Coast Conference was expanded.
And they ended up making the College Football Playoff last year.
Indeed, Lashlee has led them to consecutive 11-win seasons.
But now, ESPN have ranked SMU as No19 in their top sides.
Clemon and Miami have also dropped to 16 and 17 – meaning the three highest sides from the ACC have suffered a huge collapse.
And Lashlee was not happy as he reacted to the news of the ACC’s downgrade on social media.
Aiming a huge dig at ESPN, the SMU coach said: “Because the whole thing is rigged.”
Fans were quick to react, with one saying: “Spot on.”
Another declared: “It’s arbitrary trash.”
One noted: “We still love ya Rhett.”
Another added: “That’s my coach.”
According to ESPN, they measure the worth of a team based on their in-house FPI.
It takes the strength of a side currently and pits it against its predicted max strength throughout the season.
In their own words, it’s a “measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season.”
The leading teams in the FPI are Texas, Georgia and Alabama.
They all play in the ACC’s rival division the SEC.
