Some of it may be overboard, dancing on the grave of a not-dead patient by SEC haters who finally see their chance. Some of it is a chance to vent back at the loud pro-SEC voices, at ESPN and elsewhere. And a lot of this may be premature. New arrival Texas could still bring the SEC its sixth national title in eight years.

Now that the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff is down to four teams remaining — the size of the field the previous 10 seasons — things really don't look that much different. The final quartet includes two teams from the Big Ten,