But it's not intentional. I've just gathered so much data, and looked at it so much, that I can now easily spot when sports writers are manipulating the data to make a story. I don't have a slick chart or graphic for this, so I'm just going to type it out. Take this whole "the SEC is 2-7 in playoffs vs other power conferences since 2023". It's true, but it also completely leaves off some very relevant context. 1. 2023 SEC team that lost was Alabama. The Saban team that only got in because he was retiring and it should have been FSU. They did not earn that spot as being one of the top four teams. 2. 2024 was expanded playoff first year and matchups were tougher for some. Tenn got in and wasn't a great team. And they lost to a much better Ohio St team. Georgia lost to a better Notre Dame team. Texas won first two rounds before also losing to Ohio State. 3. Playoffs expanded in 2024 and let in teams who were not quite at the constantly elite level. 4. With playoff expansion, the SEC bias got more teams in, and that creates more chances for good SEC teams to lose against great teams from other P4 conferences. 5. 2025 playoffs, Texas A&M and Ole Miss were the good (but not great) teams, and they both lost to Miami in close games. Alabama met the Indiana buzzsaw. 6. Transfer rule changes started in 2021 with one time immediate eligibility, and then in 2024 where you could have unlimited transfers with immediate eligibility. 7. 2021 NIL started. 2025 NIL + revenue sharing started. So there you have 2-7 with added context of expanded playoffs, more "good, not great" teams from SEC in playoffs, significant transfer rule changes, SEC won two titles after NIL started, and the fact that pre-2023 was dominated by three elite programs (Alabama, Georgia, LSU). The real story is that the SEC elite programs have not been able to maintain their level of play. And part of that is due to coaching changes, and part due to transfer rules. If anything, NIL is helping them to get starters, but is hurting them for depth when backups go to other programs to get playing time and cash.