1. SEC is getting worse
Earlier this decade, the SEC was the most dominant conference in college football. However, it appears as though that the bottom half of the SEC is becoming increasingly weak. Last season, Arkansas lost, at home, to North Texas, 44-17. In Week 1 of this year, Arkansas beat Portland State by only a touchdown, 20-13, again, at home. However, Arkansas isn’t the only SEC team to struggle in Week 1.
Ole Miss lost to Memphis, 15-10. Although, the Memphis Tigers are a very good team, it was only a few years ago that Ole Miss was ruining Alabama’s perfect seasons. The Tennessee Volunteers lost to Georgia State at home in Week 1. Georgia State has only had a football season for nine years and won only two games in 2018. Additionally, they were projected to finish last in the Sun Belt Conference.
But don’t worry, there’s more. South Carolina lost to a UNC team that was 2-9 last season. And lastly, Missouri fell short to Wyoming, 37-31. For reference, Wyoming barely won six games in 2018.
The SEC didn’t happen to just play five of the best Group of Five teams in the country in Week 1. We will see most of these teams will pan out to have very mediocre seasons.
Obviously, the top teams of the SEC will be competitive with anyone in the county. However, with the recent play of the middle and bottom of the conference, the SEC is no longer the gold standard of college football conferences.