Cam Newton called out SMU, Arizona State, Indiana, and Boise State by name on the December 6 edition of ESPN's "First Take," claiming that the non-blue-bloods were punching above their weight class and didn't deserve a spot in the College Football Playoff field.
“Understand your weight class,” Newton said (h/t AL.com). “I’m going to say it. A lot of people are thinking it, and I’m gonna say it. No want to see SMU. No want to see Arizona State. No want to see Indiana. No want to see Boise State.
“I think we really need to consider teams’ strength of schedule when you are talking about the national championship. Have you really earned the right to say that, playing the talent you played? And no, Boise, without it being (Ashton) Jeanty, no, I don’t want to see Boise State. And if Boise State were to play Georgia, would Jeanty really get off?”
With 12 teams making the playoff, there's been controversy surrounding the field from top to bottom. Boise State looks poised to get an auto-bid ahead of the Big 12 champion. At the bottom of the field, there's not only arguments about seeding, but the last team in as of this writing, Alabama, has three losses. Power 4 teams with two losses, like Miami, are angry that an SEC school is getting consideration with three losses.
That's the state of the sport in 2024, though. The SEC and Big Ten have an unequal share of power -- and could well decide to take that power with them and break away from the NCAA together -- while the rest of the conferences are second-class.
Newton is just re-affirming that on ESPN airwaves in case anyone was confused about how things work in college football.