re: Why is CFB way more popular in the south than NFL?

Its because typically college teams are historically mostly made up of local players which leads to hometown and regional pride. For decades the main competition (conferences) was regionalized and the main goal was to win the conference and represent your region in the bowl game. Hence the tradition of routing for other SEC teams in bowl games. Additionally, a significant portion of the fan bases spent four years at the school and have an emotional connection to the schools.