As the SEC had four more teams in the initial CFP rankings than the Big Ten, Indiana's Curt Cignetti notes that 'the SEC gets a lot of love from ESPN'

Indiana's Curt Cignetti continues to not be shy about poking the SEC.

Cignetti was asked Wednesday night on his weekly radio show about the season's first College Football Playoff rankings. No. 4 Indiana was the highest of six Big Ten teams in the initial top 25, while the SEC had 10 teams in the rankings.

Three of the six Big Ten teams were in the top 12. Five of the 10 SEC teams were in the top 12.

"Come on, these people — and there's a whole bunch of 'em — they march out of the tent and they're given instructions on what to say and they follow the company line, right?" Cignetti said when asked about the number of teams in the rankings between both conferences. "And I don't need to go any further."

It appears that Cignetti could be alluding to the CFP's TV contract with ESPN, the network that has the exclusive rights to every football game in the SEC. The Big Ten, meanwhile, doesn't have any games on ESPN, as its TV deal is with Fox, CBS and NBC.

But no one from ESPN has anything to do with the rankings. While ESPN's analysts are responsible for discussing the rankings when they're released on a weekly basis in November, the top 25 comes from the CFP's selection committee. That 12-person group includes Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen, former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and former Nebraska coach Mike Riley.

"The SEC gets a lot of love from ESPN, you know, and all their writers that they don't technically pay but march to their drum," Cignetti also said. "So and that's why you see all these SEC teams up there, you know, some good two-loss teams from the Big Ten not quite as high. But like I said, it's all gonna be played out on the field."

Ohio State is at No. 12 despite its win over Indiana because of its loss to No. 20 USC and the absence of starting quarterback Julian Sayin. Iowa is a spot ahead of the Trojans at No. 19. All three of those teams have two losses.

It's not new — or even unfair in certain aspects — to criticize the way that the SEC is discussed on ESPN's networks compared to other conferences. But it's also hard to allege a bias toward the SEC from a group of people that includes Big Ten influence as well as other committee members from conferences outside of the SEC.

And as Cignetti noted at the end of that second quote, the initial rankings are going to be irrelevant pretty soon. No. 20 USC travels to Indiana in two weeks. A third loss for the Trojans will eliminate them from the playoff conversation.

And Ohio State has No. 23 Oregon on Saturday along with games vs. Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan remaining. While those three teams may not be ranked, wins over all three (along with a victory over Oregon) will be enough to get the Buckeyes into the Big Ten title game and put them in a position to make the playoff.