re: Is it an athletic competition or pageant?

Maybe. Don’t know if they don’t play. I remember attending the 1993 Sugar Bowl between Miami and Alabama and NO ONE thought Alabama belonged on the same field as Miami because they barely beat their opponents whereas Miami murdered everyone that year. The eye test would have told you that Miami was the bomb and Bama was the target.

Or how about Ohio State v Miami 2002? Or Ohio State v Florida 2006? They eye test is a deceptive way of saying “I think…”