Illinois' Bret Bielema Shades SEC Over CFP Rankings in Video, Responds to Fan on Social Media

Illinois' Bret Bielema is the latest Big Ten head coach to take umbrage with the SEC's dominance in the initial College Football Playoff rankings that came out this week.

Following the Illini's 24-13 win over Nebraska on Friday, Bielema joked with reporters their 6-3 record would "probably" have them ranked as a top-15 team if they were in the SEC.

After a fan on social media tried to ask why Illinois avoided scheduling an SEC opponent, Bielema responded that didn't happen because they decided to do a home-and-home with Notre Dame.

Bielema's comments come after Indiana's Curt Cignetti laughed when he was asked about the CFP Top 25 during his radio show on Wednesday.

"These people, and there's a whole bunch of them, they march out of the tent and they're given instructions on what to say and they follow the company line," he said in an apparent reference to the love the SEC received in the rankings and the conference's coverage. "And I don't need to go any further."

The College Football Playoff rankings are often subject to scrutiny, but the first reveal this season seemed to attract more attention than normal.

There are three two-loss SEC teams ranked among the top 10. Two of them — Alabama and Texas — are ahead of undefeated UCLA and one-loss BYU. The third — Mississippi — is one spot in front of Notre Dame, whose lone defeat was against BYU.

It doesn't help that there's no apparent logic among the ranking of SEC teams. For instance, Alabama (No. 5) is ranked eight spots ahead of Tennessee (No. 13) even though the Volunteers beat the Crimson Tide 26-10 on Oct. 17.

Based on the initial playoff rankings, the SEC would have five of the 12 spots. The Big Ten would have two representatives, but Ohio State at No. 12 would be squeezed out in favor of Boise State as the highest-ranked Group of Five team.

Illinois has won four straight games to become bowl eligible for the third consecutive year. The Illini will look to keep their positive momentum going next week against the Bruins at the Rose Bowl.