This point cannot be overstated as we head toward a College Football Playoff with four teams from the second-best conference and three from the best: the more bloated a league becomes, the less collective power matters.

So yes, the SEC has the most quality teams as usual. But this season it is less so in terms of elite teams. Maybe it doesn’t have one at all. It has destroyed itself. And even if the Playoff is inflated to twelve, the largest collection of fairly good to very good players will not amount to anything.