Kiffin blames SEC schedule for LSU struggles

Lane Kiffin, head coach of the LSU Tigers, attributed the team's early-season injuries and performance issues to the SEC's new nine-game conference schedule. In a news conference this week, Kiffin stated that he opposed the expansion and argued that the additional games mathematically guarantee the conference an extra eight losses. He noted that the new schedule replaced an early win with a ninth conference game, altering the competitive landscape for teams like Auburn.

Kiffin used Auburn as a specific example of the schedule's negative impact. He claimed that if Auburn's first SEC loss had been a victory against a Group of Six team, the Tigers would currently be a top-10 team with only one loss. Instead, Kiffin said, Auburn is unranked despite defeating the number one team in the country. When asked about any positives to the nine-game format, Kiffin replied, "No," citing increased player fatigue and the difficulty of building depth due to the transfer portal and NIL deals.

The argument that Kiffin presents mirrors complaints previously made by other conferences when the SEC held an advantage with an eight-game schedule. Those programs benefited from scheduling four non-conference wins, which helped establish their rankings and perceived strength. The removal of that advantage has led Kiffin to complain about the current standings. While acknowledging that college football lacks official NET ratings similar to basketball, the source points to ESPN's SP+ rankings as a metric for team efficiency.

According to ESPN's SP+ data, which adjusts for competition, the Big Ten has nine teams in the top 30, compared with seven for the SEC. This data suggests that the Big Ten's depth is currently stronger than the SEC's. Auburn is ranked No. 42, indicating a gap between the best and mediocre teams is smaller than ever. Other SEC teams such as Texas A&M (No. 33), Oklahoma (No. 34), Florida (No. 38), and Mississippi State (No. 48) are also ranked below Auburn in this metric.

There is a disparity in how human poll voters treat SEC teams compared to objective metrics. Currently, five teams from the SEC are ranked in the AP Top 25 despite having two losses. No other conference has a ranked team with two losses. This pattern suggests that SEC teams are receiving preferential treatment in voting relative to their actual performance and schedule strength.