Assumptions Of SEC Superiority Need To End Now
Longhorns, Crimson Tide show other conferences have caught up
It hasn't been that long since SEC fans, supporters and SEC/ESPN media went ballistic when 9-3 Alabama, 9-3 Ole Miss, and 9-3 South Carolina were left out of the College Football Playoff in favor of teams with better records.
Why was there such an outcry? Well, because of bias, of course. But the more comprehensive answer is that there's been an assumption among commentators and fans that simply wearing the SEC logo on a jersey automatically makes a team better than those from other conferences.
That assumption, and its related hypotheticals, "Indiana would go 4-8 in the SEC!!!!," "Ohio State is the 5th best team in the SEC!!!!!!!" "Alabama would go undefeated in the Big Ten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" have become so common as to verge on cliché.
Well, two of the SEC's signature programs in 2025, the aforementioned Crimson Tide, and preseason #1 Texas Longhorns had an opportunity early on Saturday for big non-conference wins. Beat Ohio State, beat Florida State, and the SEC would demonstrate that reports of its demise were greatly exaggerated.
Turns out, the only thing exaggerated was, once again, preseason poll rankings of SEC teams.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer looks on against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. Photo: Melina Myers-Imagn Images
Texas, Alabama Show SEC No Longer Deserves Benefit Of The Doubt
Ohio State dominated its game against Texas on the way to a 14-7 win. Then Florida State ran Alabama off the field in Tallahassee, winning 31-17 in a game that wasn't even that close.
Against a vaunted "SEC defense," Florida State racked up 230 yards rushing, including 78 to former Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos. On the other side of the ball, the Crimson Tide's hardnosed SEC running attack picked up just 74 yards on 29 carries, a woeful 2.6 yards-per-carry average.
The Florida State defensive line dominated the game, clearly outperforming an incomparable SEC defensive line. The Seminoles had seven tackles for loss, three sacks and five passes deflected. New Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was frequently flushed out of the pocket, hurried, and forced to try to make plays on the run. Meanwhile, the Alabama defense had just one sack, three tackles for loss, and zero passes deflected.
If not for a muffed FSU punt, the score might have been even more lopsided.
And that's the takeaway from Saturday's results – the era of unquestioned SEC dominance is officially over. It should have already been over, but even a 1-5 bowl record against the Big Ten wasn't enough to fully change public perception. Saturday should be.
Two of the SEC's signature teams, two teams in the top-8, including the preseason number one, lost games they had little chance of winning. Including one to an unranked ACC team that finished last year 2-10. Those two schools, which again, entered ranked #1 and #8, scored 24 total points.
Does this mean the SEC is suddenly the worst Power 4 conference, or that one or both of Texas and Alabama can't recover and make a playoff run? Of course not. LSU has an opportunity to grab a signature win on the road against Clemson and salvage the day for the SEC.
But the automatic assumption that wearing an "SEC" patch means "better than everybody else" needs to end now. The obsessive focus from ESPN and other sports media on the SEC as the only good conference needs to end now. The "SEC gauntlet" talk needs to end now. The "losing three games in the SEC means you'd be undefeated in other conferences" narrative needs to end now.