SEC Bias is a term used by college football fans that dates back to the late 1970s. Fans use it to express their concern that the Southeastern Conference gains more respect and favorable treatment than other teams in other leagues for no real reason.
One of the most pointed-to cases of SEC bias was the 2023 playoff seeding. During the College Football Playoff Era, the top four teams in the nation were selected to continue into championship contention. Michigan, Washington and Texas were clear contenders, leaving the fourth spot open. Many believed that undefeated Florida State should take the fourth spot; however, despite going 12-1 in the regular season, SEC Champion Alabama took the last spot instead.
SEC Bias has been brought up this season especially in relation to the College Football Playoff polls where, in the most recent poll from Nov. 18, five of the projected 12 teams in the playoffs were members of the SEC. These five teams include No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Georgia, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 10 Alabama.
The SEC dominating playoff hopes is nothing new. Over half of the past 11 national championships have been won by an SEC team.
This begs the question: do these teams truly deserve their spot in the playoffs, or is the CFP Committee simply over-crediting them?
“I don’t believe there’s anyone looking to swap their conference schedule and its opponents with the opponents played by SEC Conference teams in our conference schedule,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said.
Looking at the strength of schedule, seven of the top 10 teams with the hardest strength of schedule come from the SEC.
The professional success of past players speaks to the strength of the SEC in recent years. At the beginning of the 2025 NFL season, 451 past SEC players were listed on NFL active rosters, more than any other conference. The SEC has also led every other conference in NFL draft picks for 19 consecutive years.
The SEC has an all-time winning record against every other conference in college football as well.
However, with the recent dominance of the Big Ten, some believe that the SEC is losing its spot as the powerhouse of college football.
The past two national titles have gone to members of the Big Ten in Michigan and Ohio State, with Ohio State listed as the top team in the nation for the majority of the 2025-26 season thus far.
At SEC Media Days earlier this summer, head coach of the Missouri Tigers Eli Drinkwitz responded to questions regarding if the SEC was truly the top conference.
“The top? The top, as in number of draft picks in the NFL? Top as in most viewership? Overall top, deepest conference in college football? Look, the more teams you add to the tournament, there’s greater variance to it,” he said.
It’s not only Drinkwitz that feels this way. Other coaches in the SEC share a similar opinion regarding the conference’s strength in athletics.
“That’s our responsibility, to be at the top, right? That’s the expectation,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said. “I know at Alabama, but also the expectation for the SEC as a whole. I still feel that the SEC top to bottom is as strong as you’ll find.”
The SEC has proven its ability to find its way to the top, but is that route found through competition or unfounded favoritism?
To see how the SEC will measure up against other conferences, tune in to the next set of College Football Playoff rankings which will be released Tuesday during the CFP Selection show at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
