Was more difficult. Strength of schedule is built on preseason rankings where the SEC had 9 teams. The SEC is still the deepest conference but with nil the days of 4 star backups is over. Their depth is gone and the field has leveled up.
I don't deny that we have less depth than before due to the transfer portal and NIL. But, it's not like the teams that have always been more talented aren't still the most talented. They are. UGA's recruiting rankings during the NIL era have been 3,2,1,2.
As you can see below, in any metric that affects SOS, the SEC is still miles ahead of the B1G. Your recent bias, coupled with what you hope to be, is showing. It's like you guys won 2 NCs and think that everything has flipped. It hasn't. tOSU has always been great and in the hunt. They won an NC. And until it is vacated, UM has an NC. That's it.
The field hasn't leveled up as much as you think. The idea that the North is rich and the South is poor is ridiculous. CFB in the south is religion, and religious people have no problem tithing to their god.
I don't expect a quarter century to be as dominant as the last, and that's good for the sport. NIL, free agency, and the expansion of the CFP, along with Saban's retirement, will cause it. However, relevant metrics do not support the idea that the SEC is declining.
Let's just look at the last 2 years of recruiting and the transfer portal:
2025:
SEC - 1,2,3,7,8,9,10,11,16,17,18,20,28,29,32,77
B1G - 4,5,6,13,15,22,23,25,27,33,39,45,46,47,49,57,66,91
2024:
SEC - 1,2,6,7,8,10,13,14,19,20,21,22,24,29,30,40
B1G - 3,5,15,16,17,18,23,27,32,35,36,38,42,47,49,65,80,90
You might say, well, what about the transfer portal ... glad you asked. I'll just do top 25:
2025:
SEC - 1,4,7,8,10,11,12,15,16,17,21,24,26
B1G - 5,13,14,18,20,22,25
2024:
SEC - 1,3,4,5,6,13,14,16,20,21
B1G - 2,9,11,12,19,23
What about the Talent Composite? Just the top 25-ish
2024
SEC - 1,2,4,7,8,10,12,17,18,19,20,21,24,26
B1G - 3,16,11,15,16,23,27
2023
SEC - 1,2,4,6,7,9,15,16,18,22,23,25,29,31,32
B1G - 3,8,10,13,14,21,24,26,27,30
And, then back to the SOS:
2024:
SEC - 1,3,6,7,8,9,13,14,16,17,20,21,24
B1G - 2,5,10,11,12,15,18,19,22