By and large, SEC football fans are humbled. However, they\u2019re not in a panic, based on the results of a reader survey by The Athletic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SEC will continue to produce the best TV product in the sport, arguably better with the parity,\u201d wrote Joe, a reader and self-described SEC fan. \u201cI\u2019m OK with letting others hold the trophy in brief stints.\u201d<\/p>\n
Non-SEC fans, meanwhile, feel the conference should be worried. At least a little bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SEC will always be good and competitive, and they will always have a special vibe in those stadiums and during those games. They will eventually will win the natty again,\u201d wrote Ryan Pierce, a Big Ten fan. \u201cBut they will never be dominant again \u2014 because now, \u2018it just means more\u2019 to everybody else, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the SEC\u2019s third straight season not even making the national championship, we decided to take the pulse of our readers \u2014 in and out of the SEC \u2014 via a survey. The questions revolved around the SEC but also the changes in the sport, and the future. Judging by the results:<\/p>\n
\u2022 There is widespread feeling that Indiana\u2019s championship was a product of the changes in the sport \u2014 not just Curt Cignetti being that great a coach.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The SEC programs that will do best over the next five years are Georgia, Texas and LSU \u2014 in that order.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Half of respondents favor expanding the College Football Playoff to 16, almost a third want to keep it at 12, and the rest want it to be more than 16 \u2014 or less than 12.<\/p>\n
This is by no means a scientific survey. It\u2019s an examination of 1,559 readers who completed the survey. The responses were from all fans, not just the SEC, unless noted.<\/p>\n
Survey respondents were fans of \u2026<\/p>\n
Conference% of respondents<\/p>\n
SEC<\/p>\n
66.4%<\/p>\n
Big Ten<\/p>\n
15.0%<\/p>\n
No particular conference<\/p>\n
5.6%<\/p>\n
Notre Dame<\/p>\n
4.3%<\/p>\n
Big 12<\/p>\n
3.7%<\/p>\n
ACC<\/p>\n
3.5%<\/p>\n
Group of 5<\/p>\n
1.5%<\/p>\n
State of the SEC<\/p>\n
To sum up: 61.1 percent of SEC fans aren\u2019t sweating this much. Only 19.4 percent of SEC fans are very or somewhat worried.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo much overreaction,\u201d Alex Panhans wrote. \u201cSEC football is the best product in CFB. The tailgating, athletic department financial commitments, full and loud stadiums where winning on the road at any venue is a major accomplishment on the schedule, and passionate fan bases, are always going to make it the best top-to-bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another reader, Tracy, took a more sanguine view: \u201cSEC had a great run as clearly the conference with the most talent and the best teams. The talent is so spread out that is unlikely to happen again. The SEC schools still have the most passionate fans and most consistent traditions. It is probably best for the sport overall that the talent is more spread out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, some worry exists.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am an OU fan,\u201d wrote Bill. \u201cMy biggest worry for all the SEC teams is whether or not they will have the financial strength to stay competitive in the NIL battle for both new recruits and portal entrants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tom Jackson pointed to the Big Ten regions having larger markets and more resources than the South.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome SEC schools may be able to keep up (the Texas schools, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida), but in general, no,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cSchools like Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame have a fundraising history, huge alumni numbers, and deep databases dating from the 1930s. Major fundraising at SEC schools only began in the 1970s and \u201980s, and for some, it still hasn\u2019t achieved any level of meaningful competitiveness for the institutions in general or their athletic programs.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for fans of other conferences?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, non-SEC fans tend to think there should be more concern. It\u2019s still not quite a majority with 44.6 percent choosing the two highest levels of worry. But that\u2019s more than twice the percentage of SEC fans who chose those two options.<\/p>\n
A common theme is that in a world where everyone can legally pay players, the SEC doesn\u2019t benefit because in the old system \u2026 well, you know the assumption. True or not, it\u2019s the outside perception.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SEC no longer has roster advantages with obscene depth. Now, it truly comes down to coaching and available resources,\u201d wrote Aero, a Big Ten fan. \u201cAnd, Texas schools aside, I\u2019m not sure the majority of SEC schools have the monetary resources to sustain themselves long term in the competition for talent. The B1G has much larger alumni bases and wealth. The days of SEC dominance are over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, a combined 32.7 percent of non-SEC fans chose the two lowest levels of worry options. Combined with the middle option, it\u2019s just over a majority essentially saying the SEC shouldn\u2019t panic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SEC remains pretty clearly the best top-to-bottom conference,\u201d wrote Jared W., a Notre Dame fan. \u201cI think there was always some mythology surrounding their dominance but they occupy a football-obsessed region that churns out the best players so it isn\u2019t some crazy conspiracy that they were and are good. The parity and program investment in the league has shown up and NIL has obviously had a huge impact. Not like the SEC is out there getting smoked, games have been good and competitive (Bama excepted). League will be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The top two could be lopped together, and often are: The SEC is no longer able to hoard talent because players can leave for playing time and a better deal.<\/p>\n
A sampling of some of the explanations for other reasons:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SEC has the toughest schedule so SEC teams come into the playoff worn out. It was easier for the SEC when the playoffs were shorter.\u201d \u2014 Dave, Big Ten fan<\/p>\n
\u201cMore good teams in SEC beating each other due to spreading of talent.\u201d \u2014 Jim, no particular conference fan<\/p>\n
\u201cNatural variation over time? For the life of me, I can\u2019t understand why media thinks this is such a big deal (and I say that as a member of the media, though not for CFB). I don\u2019t know any SEC fans who are tight about it.\u201d \u2014 Amanda, SEC fan<\/p>\n
\u201cLack of large donors.\u201d \u2014 JA, SEC fan<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is now paying players.\u201d \u2014 Joe, Big Ten fan<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a natural ebb and flow and the SEC is at an ebb. But they dominate teams 10-30 in CFB and have more parity than they did over the previous decades.\u201d \u2014 MJ, Big Ten fan<\/p>\n
\u201cHubris and believing your own press.\u201d \u2014 Blake, SEC fan<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The SEC actually had a better nonconference performance during the 2025 season than the previous two seasons. It also got five teams in the CFP, after only three in 2024. But everything went sideways in the postseason, from the Playoff to bowls.<\/p>\n
Keith, who lives in Ireland and described himself as an SEC fan, drew a comparison with the sport on his side of the pond.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the SEC shares a similar parallel with the English Premier League when it comes to their teams playing in the Champions League. After playing an SEC schedule, which is a gantlet, the majority of teams are out on their feet. To then play a playoff game against a team in another conference who has had maybe four tough games, it\u2019s hard \u2026 Then again, what would I know. I\u2019m relatively new to the sport (fan since 2020 and from Ireland) so take what I say with a pinch of salt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rank the SEC programs according to how you think they\u2019ll do over the next five years:<\/p>\n
A sampling of comments:<\/p>\n
\u201cUGA fan. As they say, \u2018In Kirby we trust.\u2019 Until we don\u2019t.\u201d \u2014 Tommy Jennings<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an Alabama fan, I realize the winning we witnessed with (Nick Saban) will never occur in college football in my lifetime. I think Kalen (DeBoer) will win one (if given the time) over his first six years and that will be the way it is.\u201d \u2014 John S.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a Vanderbilt fan, I\u2019m excited about the possibility of even more parity! It\u2019s time the SEC dominance gets a challenge and I\u2019m happy to see it.\u201d \u2014 Emily<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Gators dodged a bullet by NOT getting Lane Kiffin and may very well wind up with the best hire in this cycle. Very optimistic with Jon Sumrall at the helm.\u201d \u2014 Vince B., a Florida fan<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the year Josh Heupel must prove whether he is the (Tennessee) savior or just another mediocrity.\u201d \u2014 Bill Ryan<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside of Kirby, there\u2019s a lot of questionable coaches in the league. So I definitely question the direction of the conference. The top coaches in CFB right now are: Kirby, Cignetti, (Ryan) Day, (Marcus) Freeman, etc. Who from the SEC, beside Kirby, would be on that tier? Some would say Lane, but what has he proven? He hasn\u2019t shown long term stability at a program.\u201d \u2014 Bucky B.<\/p>\n
Future of the sport<\/p>\n
Some reader thoughts:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m tired of the SEC\u2019s perception how great they are. College football is simply different now and Indiana\u2019s rise is the utmost example of how more mundane programs (like mine at Cal) can potentially turn the table.\u201d \u2014 Cameron, ACC fan<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SEC is going to have to adjust how they identify and develop talent. Indiana proved there is a lot of undervalued talent that can be acquired through the portal. The SEC even has its own example this year in Trinidad Chambliss (who was still expected to be a backup this season).\u201d \u2014 Kris F., a Big 12 fan<\/p>\n
\u201cIndiana IS a sign of the changing times, but Coach Cigs is also unique. Their older, portal-heavy squad being coached that well was the perfect recipe. They beat Oregon just as badly as Alabama, so some of the hysteria is unwarranted.\u201d \u2014 Patrick V., SEC fan<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A few more reader thoughts:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not so much worried about the SEC as much as I (worry about) the way the playoffs are being run. Twelve teams with the top four seeds having a month off is proven disastrous. It needs to go to 16 teams with no automatic conference bids. Top 16 teams, that\u2019s it. Period.\u201d \u2014 Jason James, SEC fan<\/p>\n
\u201cMiami making the title game as the 10 seed, and the fact that with next year\u2019s CFP rules they would\u2019ve been out this year, shows we need 16 teams in the Playoff. I do think that a lot of programs need to get their heads out of the sand and recognize it\u2019s not national championship or bust. There are 136 FBS teams, 70 of which are P4. And only one champion every year. As a Texas alum I have endured a lot of pain, but unlike many of my fellow Horns, two top-four appearances from 2023 to 2024 were both great experiences and I cherish them. Obviously, I would love to see us win a titl,e but I do not EXPECT it.\u201d \u2014 Cody Boyd, a Texas fan<\/p>\n
\u201cThis feels like a jerk thing to say, but in the age of NIL, schools outside of what was the Power 5 shouldn\u2019t qualify for the same playoffs. They might look amazing among their peers, but they inevitably cannot compete at the same level. They end up taking spots that could have gone to more competitive \u2018P5\u2019 contenders.\u201d \u2014 Kara, an SEC fan<\/p>\n
Next, we asked SEC fans \u2026<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, two-thirds of non-SEC respondents \u2014 66.6 percent \u2014 said they believed conference championship games should be eliminated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SEC Championship Game must end. It\u2019s become a game for seeding in the CFP. Winning the SEC (or any conference) now has no more meaning than winning the AFC West or NFC North. The SEC used to have co-champions and everybody was fine with that. No reason to not go back to that model.\u201d \u2014 Harry, an SEC fan<\/p>\n
\u201cChampionship games should determine a bye for conferences with total top-four ranking for the game. And only one off week \u2014 with play-in games on Thursday\/Friday after championships.\u201d \u2014 John, an SEC fan<\/p>\n
Do you want a Super League?<\/p>\n
PreferenceSEC fansNon-SEC fans<\/p>\n
Stay the same<\/p>\n
75.9%<\/p>\n
70.8%<\/p>\n
Super League<\/p>\n
24.1%<\/p>\n
29.2%<\/p>\n
\u201cSuper League is not the answer, but neither is Stay the Same. The answer is somewhere in between \u2014 the Big 10 and SEC cannibalize the rest of the Big 12 and ACC, finishing around 24 teams each. They split into four divisions each based on geography and historic rivalries. The season shortens to 10-11 games, then each conference has a four-team tournament to decide its champion. Conference champs meet in the title game on Jan 1. \u2014 Will B.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the sport is better off with a Super League. The big conferences want a system that works best for them. Only in that way can they address the big questions in the room regarding player movement, collective bargaining, revenue sharing\/salary caps, and the like. The result will be nothing that looks like college football in its current form, but we have to acknowledge that that is where this bus is going. The NCAA isn\u2019t legally equipped to provide the governance structure that they need (they do not have an antitrust exemption, they can\u2019t create or enforce a CBA, there are valid legal questions to their eligibility rules). Frankly, the NCAA shouldn\u2019t be those things.\u201d \u2014 Tyler, a Lehigh fan<\/p>\n
\u201cHoping one of the Super League proposals are approved. Conferences are just too big and what happened to Oregon State and Washington State is a travesty.\u201d \u2014 Marty, an SEC fan<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to see a Super League (mash all conferences up) and implement relegation like European soccer leagues, so the JMU\u2019s of the world can move up for a season, and the Mississippi States can level down, but I know there is too much $$$$ at stake for that to ever happen. A boy can dream of life being fair, right?\u201d \u2014 Richie Beans, SEC fan<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I, and I think a lot of fans want, is a return to smaller conferences with schools that are more closely located to each other. The never-ending expansion is what will end up being the death of the sport, not NIL or the transfer portal.\u201d \u2014 Wyatt, SEC fan<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only reason I\u2019d be FOR a Super League is to get balanced scheduling, true what-happens-on-the-field defines playoff access, and get regional rivalries back \u2026 essentially the best parts of the sport.\u201d \u2014 Joseph, a Big 12 fan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By and large, SEC football fans are humbled. However, they\u2019re not in a panic, based on the results…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[930,7208,7210,331,1301,7,450,3499,7211,7209,7206,49,48,1787,7207,4278,1541,7212,1078,7205],"class_list":{"0":"post-718408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-alabama-crimson-tide","9":"tag-arkansas-razorbacks","10":"tag-auburn-tigers","11":"tag-college-football","12":"tag-florida-gators","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-georgia-bulldogs","15":"tag-kentucky-wildcats","16":"tag-lsu-tigers","17":"tag-mississippi-state-bulldogs","18":"tag-missouri-tigers","19":"tag-ncaa","20":"tag-ncaa-football","21":"tag-oklahoma-sooners","22":"tag-ole-miss-rebels","23":"tag-south-carolina-gamecocks","24":"tag-tennessee-volunteers","25":"tag-texas-am-aggies","26":"tag-texas-longhorns","27":"tag-vanderbilt-commodores"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115988217643893771","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}