The Southeastern Conference put out a dismal performance across the board during the first three weeks of the college football season, but fans should still be excited for conference play to open up in earnest.

As the first part of the competitive non-conference slate ends, the SEC will have to face the fact that they are leaving September with a losing record against other Power 5 conference teams.

SEC teams finished 5-7 against Power 5 non-conference opponents. Yes, you really wanted to include Tulane, who was ranked when Ole Miss beat them, it could be 6-7, but Tulane was also playing without their starting quarterback, which still leaves the SEC with a losing record.

The truth is that the SEC has been dominant over the last decade and a half and even more so over the past four seasons, but that is not translating to this year.

SEC domination over college football is not just a convenient talking point, but a fact of the sport. Since 2007, the SEC has had two losing seasons against Power 5 competition (the next closest is the Pac-12 with eight), led the country in NFL draft picks each year, produced 11 of the 17 national champions from five different schools (three of these title games featuring two SEC teams), and holds a 60% winning percentage against the rest of the Power 5.

This gap has only grown in the past four years with three different SEC schools winning it all.

These three title winners won their championship games by 17, 28, and 58-point margins. The other was 2021 Georgia, who had to defeat fellow conference-member Alabama in the title game. So let’s just be real, it might really mean more.

With all that in mind, it is indisputable that through three weeks of the college football season, none of that dominance is showing through. Western division and title favorites LSU and Alabama were both humbled in early season showcases against Florida State and Texas.

The two-time defending National Champs Georgia struggled mightily in the first half to beat a South Carolina team that was physically dominated by North Carolina earlier this month.

Tennessee handled Virginia, a Cavalier team that has since suffered defeats to James Madison and Maryland, but had no answer on the road for a Florida Gators team coming off a three touchdown loss at Utah.

The rest of the league failed to pick up the slack. It was not just the aforementioned losses by Florida and South Carolina; Texas A&M put up no resistance to a Miami offense that put 48 past the Aggies. 

The first few weeks also featured disappointing defeats by Arkansas and Vanderbilt.

Perhaps the only impressive result for the SEC came from what many see as its perennial disappointing stepchild, Missouri, who kicked a 61-yard field goal to take down reigning Big 12 champions Kansas State at home.

The SEC’s only other conquests include wins over Virginia and Georgia Tech (who likely will feature in the basement of the ACC), an uninspiring Auburn 14-10 victory at Cal, and a Mississippi State home overtime W against Arizona.

So, where does this leave the league? The truth is that the league may not be all that dominant this year, especially at the top, but we should be in for one of the most exciting seasons the conference has seen in quite a while.

Let’s call it what it is: this Alabama team is not the team we expect from Nick Saban, and this Georgia team certainly does not look like they have the same offensive firepower they did last year, so the door might be wide open, and is that not what we want?

Even if you are an SEC fan, you should relish that every Saturday will be loaded with exciting games from across the country.

This year has a chance to be one of the most competitive in years, and the transfer portal and NIL have been a large part of that.  Both have allowed for schools traditionally in the middle of the road to pick up more talent on their rosters, which has let them close the gap.

NIL has allowed schools to create marketing value for players, which helps keep them close to home and away from the traditional recruiting powerhouses.

Coaching has also played a major role in the recent increase in parity. With more ingenuity on offense and creative schemes on defense, coaches have found ways to work around a lack of talent.

So, let’s buckle in and enjoy the fact that this has the chance to be one of the most fun seasons we have seen in the Southeastern Conference in a long time. We could very well see two SEC Championship Game competitors with two losses. 

This could be the kind of season where we get to run through the combinations of who needs who to win and who needs to lose in that final week of the season. Thanksgiving weekend may give us a couple of rivals who get massive chances to ruin their foe’s seasons.

I, for one, cannot wait for what could be a season that we never really get a grasp on. I think it is going to be exhilarating to watch each and every week and have no idea what to expect.

Parity may be back from top to bottom in the conference and across college football for the first time in a very long time.

The SEC may not clear the standard it set for itself, but I think this could be one of the most memorable seasons of college football. And with this being the last season of college football as we know it, let’s just sit back and enjoy.