I mean, OU is about to join the SEC, so to even win their division and conference they're going to have to go through Bama and Georgia. Nobody is scared of aTm. Besides, who knows what the new SEC is going to do with their structure once OU and UT come on board.
I could totally see an SEC pod set up something like this:
West: OU, UT, aTm, LSU
North: Mizzou, Arkansas, Ole Miss, MSU
South: Bama, Auburn, Vandy, UK
East: Georgia, Florida, SC, Tennessee
Mel Tucker is staying in East Lansing even though he has to compete with Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State just to make it to the B1G Championship. I get Alabama has been the gold standard in CFB for a long time, but LSU is still a top 5-7 job in the country.