re: So, is it kinda true the SEC was cheating way more than anyone else pre NIL?

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It used to mean more.

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Now it just costs more!

Anyone who uses polls in an argument is really a clueless fan. Polls are nothing but opinion and mean nothing. And worse than that polls are collusive entities that will prop up the money makers aka ESPN. The SEC will always be over populated in the polls until they are no longer in business with ESPN.

The entire country watched the “highly ranked” SEC get exposed, aka they LOST games against other conferences. Yet, we have fans bringing up post season polls? Zero logic. In a playoff system the post season poll is a poll of 1 - Indiana. No one cares who finished 2nd or 19th.

They haven’t qualified to play in a national title game in damn near an entire recruiting cycle.

They’ve also had some rather embarrassing losses like Notre Dame controlling heavily favored Georgia, up 20-3 at half, winning 23-10. Tennessee losing by 4 scores to Ohio state. And Indiana giving SEC flagship program Alabama their worst postseason loss in history. 8-4 Iowa, without a forward passing threat, led fringe playoff contender and 10-2 Vandy by 2-3 scores the majority of their game with almost no opt-outs on either side.

Last year, they were 0-3 in the playoffs v. power conference opponents. They’ve had more playoff spots than any league the last 3 seasons and failed to qualify for the national title game.

To say they’ve not fallen behind based on polls that heavily favored them all season is silly. Even sillier to chalk up all bowls as trash barometers because LSU had a program in flux. Illinois beat Tennessee in Tennessee. Illinois had a 50+ point loss on its resume and they both had about the same number of opt outs.

The SEC didn't start cheating in college sports. It's been being done since before the SEC formed in the early 30's. I Ivy Leagues were the best teams in the country when they cheated. They almost completely shut down college football over rough play, but cheating was also a big problem.

The SWC had all but a couple of their teams on probation for cheating in the 80's. States like Texas have so many teams competing against each other making them ripe for turning each other in. OU cheated and got caught long before they joined the SEC or even the BigXII. A&m and Texas were both caught cheating in the SWC days, along with just about everyone else in the conference.

Smaller states with a couple of good teams, like Mississippi also love to turn each other in. Bama and Auburn also fit that mold.

I think everyone in the SEC had to start doing it more in the 2000's. Bama, with their REC (Red Elephant Club), had perfected cheating. They used a former player from West Monroe as one of their bagmen. If you wanted to compete, you had to form a system, and join in. LSU didn't start processing their own players until Bama had four or five consecutive years where they'd sign over 30 high school recruits in years where LSU could only sign 23 or 24. We had to learn to start telling kids to transfer out. That started under Les Miles. Within a year of the story about the Bama DL commit who who cried when he didn't have a committable offer on NSD, LSU did the same thing to a Houston area CB named Hardeman. Les had truly turned into a meany like Saban.

I don't know about the other schools in the Big 10, but Ohio State got caught cheating a couple of times. Michigan got caught in basketball with the Fab Five. As much as they cared about football, you almost have to assume they cheated at it too. Even some Notre Dame players got caught getting loans or some sh*t illegally. FSU and Miami always cheated.

Maybe nobody did it better than the SEC, but we were not the first to do it.

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LSU had a booster embezzling money from a healthcare fund to pay an OL $180k like 10-12 years ago.

Can you find similar stories anywhere else?

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Reggie Bush got caught because his agent sued his parents. Los Angeles Times

Miami got caught because their booster was running a Ponzi scheme. Nevin Shapiro

Ohio State tattoo parlor owner investigated for drug trafficking gave players tattoos for autographed Big Ten championship rings, jerseys, and other football-related awards. wiki

Michigan Hoops got caught because their illegal gambling booster was on trial for tax evasion. wiki

Arizona and LSU Hoops coaches were caught on FBI wiretaps. ESPN

Most of the NCAA probations over the last 30 years have been over court case testimony that shined a light on recruits getting money.

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The SEC didn't start cheating in college sports. It's been being done since before the SEC formed in the early 30's. I Ivy Leagues were the best teams in the country when they cheated.

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But Billy Bob and Jimmy Joe perfected the secrecy behind it. Since everyone at these institutions valued their University based on football success, from Presidents on down to fans and everyone in the State, there were no whistleblowers and no one to tattle to.

But yeah...lets go back to Notre Dame, when they dominated the roaring 20s...probably CFBs first professional team as the line was blurred between CFB and the fledgling Pros.

Notre Dame had players on the team who weren't even real students. They'd be on the team for a year, barnstorming the Nation and then be out of School the next year. Kinda,like today.

Reggie Bush had an agent that was trying to get him to leave college and go pro so he could make money off him, not so he would play at USC. He lost his heisman. USC lost their dynasty and had a postseason ban.

Shapiro was largely throwing parties and giving small payouts to players - Miami self imposed big sanctions and postseason ban

Ohio state players got tats, some just discounted, for signing shite they got for free and trading it - ncaa postseason ban

LSU had a booster embezzling hundreds of thousands from a healthcare fund and paid multiple players six figures. - no postseason ban. Story broke in fall 2019, LSU Won a national title that season.

Auburn won the cam newton bidding war, obviously paid cash for him. Toothless ncaa investigates - no postseason ban. National title even though they should have suspended him solely based on his father’s documented solicitation from Miss State, which they acknowledged.

You’re in denial. Indiana had lost more games than anyone heading into the season and absolutely trucked and embarrassed the program that single handedly carried the SECs image of national dominance for ~20 years en route to a national title, the 3rd straight by a different big ten program in a run that featured zero SEC schools playing in the championship. And you don’t think they’ve fallen behind because their brand ambassador propped them up all season as the gauntlet and AP voters agreed.

The same AP that apparently watched Iowa lead Vanderbilt by 2+ scores for 3/4 of a game and ranked Vandy ahead of Iowa in their final poll.

Even if LSU had won that game, the rest of the leagues performance has been utterly bad. LSU was ranked #3 during the season and was a national title contender in the eyes of most pundits. They were a turd team that would have lost to half the big ten.

No one had said that “only the SEC was cheating”. Out of the 138 FBS teams I’d say less than 20 were playing the bagman system. But the SEC did it better than anyone and had more teams involved - which is why they dominated for the past 3 decades. I’m not taking that away from the the SEC. They played the game of the times just like Knute Rockne, Bobby Dodd, General Neyland, and others in the past during their day.

All I’m pointing out is we are now in a new era called NIL and the BIG has dominated with 3 straight Natties by 3 different teams. That’s what the SEC use to do. Maybe the SEC will figure it all out and win 7 of the next 10. Then I’ll gladly give them credit, but right now that’s not the case.

In the past 30 years we’ve all lived thru 3 types of domination in a major sport that all had their heyday and then stepped back. 1 - the Big East in hoops with the old Georgetown, UConn, St Johns, Syracuse days. 2- the ACC in hoops who would constantly have 2-3 teams in Final Fours. 3- the SEC absolutely dominating the BCS era and 4 team playoff era.

Sure, teams in those conferences can still compete and win Natties but not at the same rate and consistency. This coming season the ACC has one 1 football team with a chance - Miami. The SEC has one - UGA. The BIG has several. That’s just reality.

Now, can we all argue our team has a path to a Natty? Of course. That’s why we watch but we all know deep down that our teams would have to play way above their norm to win 3-4 playoff games let alone get an invite.

And polls are a joke and no longer matter with an expanded playoff. The committee has shown us they are a joke. FSU got hosed a few years ago. ND got hosed last year. I expect an SEC team to get hosed this December because the public pressure not to reward them will be high. It ain’t right but that’s been the history. You guys just haven’t had to experience the past 25 years but now that the BIG is the top tier welcome to my world of being a lap dog.

As others said, it’s NIL and the transfer portal.
Majority of great football prospects are in the Deep South. When it was under the table paying, it was easier to just stay home bc the money up north probably wasn’t much better.
Now, it’s basically unlimited so highest bidder may very well be way into 7 figures, far cry from a brown paper bag full, charger, and an apartment. That’s the NIL part.
The unlimited transfer portal part keeps teams from having high end starters on the 2-3 deep.
That talent is now spread out and are going to schools that can pay while also allowing them to play immediately.
If you ever see the portal and or NIL reigned again, I fully expect sec dominance to reappear very quickly.