I am simply pointing out that the SEC has earned the respect thrown their way. I still remember when people were screaming for an Ohio State-Michigan national championship game, because these two teams were so much better than the rest of college football, then having a one-loss Florida team absolutely destroy an undefeated Ohio State team. The SEC then went on to win the BCS championship game for seven consecutive years. This cannot be discounted when dishing out respect for how strong a conference is. It might not be as strong from year to year but from top to bottom, there are usually no pushovers and to compete in this league requires a very strong football program. UCF beat Auburn last year. Let them go on after that to play LSU, Texas A&M, Georgia, Mississippi State, and Alabama in the same season and see how undefeated they are. Competition makes a huge difference.
True. The intangibles are hard to reconcile sometimes. One also needs to remember that many SEC rivalries are nearly 100 years old. Heart plays a big component in these games. For instance, Auburn or Tennessee might suck, but Bama must take them very seriously.