The Alabama Crimson Tide is a touchdown underdog that's not being given much of a chance to upset the undefeated No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl this coming Thursday.
That point spread illustrates the benefit of SEC bias for the Tide, at least according to FOX Sports' Michael Cohen.
Cohen believes the benefit makes Alabama a smaller underdog at the spread than the Texas Tech Red Raiders would've been against the reigning Big Ten champions. Cohen sees Nick Saban's lasting legacy in Tuscaloosa as the reason Kalen DeBoer's squad isn't seen as a more appropriate underdog.
"Imagine thinking back to the national championship-strewn Nick Saban era at Alabama — or any era in the program’s history, really — and envisioning a scenario where Indiana, which has lost the second-most games of any team in college football history, is favored over the Crimson Tide by nearly a touchdown on a neutral field. For decades, such a statement would have seemed like heresy given the drastically contrasting pedigrees and aspirations of both programs, but second-year Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, formerly of JMU, has transformed the Hoosiers from cellar-dwellers to Big Ten champions in short order. Indiana, a team thoroughly deserving of the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s CFP, ranks among the top 10 nationally in total offense (eighth), total defense (fourth) and special teams (sixth) to reflect just how fundamentally sound, well-coached and talented Cignetti’s group really is in all three phases. If the name on the opponent’s jersey this week was Texas Tech instead of Alabama, a program synonymous with postseason success, it’s quite possible the Hoosiers would be favored by even more," Cohen wrote.
SEC and Big Ten have every narrative in College Football working for them
Cohen is correct. The SEC and Big Ten biases have their member schools and schedules perceived as infinitely stronger than the Big 12, ACC, and below by the sport's main decision-makers. Texas Tech, just like the Ohio State Buckeyes or Oregon Ducks, or the Texas Longhorns or Texas A&M Aggies, has the money to play ball in rev-share and NIL, though.
Of course, the Red Raiders need to win games, plural, to overcome the "Power 2" narratives. Ditto for the Miami Hurricanes. Everyone forgot the TCU Horned Frogs' win over the Michigan Wolverines in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl because they lost by 58 to the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2023 CFP title game.
There's always going to be an inherent bias against the perceived "less-competitive" conferences because of where the revenue in the sport comes from. It's what keeps the Crimson Tide of the world as the haves, and makes anything underneath the B1G and the "It Just Means More" conference the have-nots.
Maybe the Texas Techs of the world will change that before long with meaningful playoff wins. All it takes is one Red Raiders title to reshape the entire conversation in College Football.