Urban has done a great job of loading Florida with great talent both on the field and in the coaches’ box. However, while there might be a small talent differential between Florida and other SEC powers like Bama, UGA, and LSU, it’s not as big as the one between Southern Cal and their competitors, although it might seem like it this year because the Gators are really peaking. The other top SEC programs are usually better than Oregon, Oregon State, Cal, etc., and Florida won’t push them around every year. I think you’ll see Saban and Bama especially level the playing field with the Gators over the next couple of years. Saban has that program on the way to big things. All of this means that you’ll probably continue to see an SEC that’s more level than the Pac-10.

Another thing to think about is whether Florida is really that much better than everyone else in terms of raw talent or if they’ve just managed to find the perfect combination of talent, intensity, play calling, and the like. Don’t forget that UGA was similarly dominant late last year but came back down to earth this year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Gators do the same next year.

Sure, if Florida does this for a few years, we might start seeing the SEC’s status erode. (For the record, the bottom half of the Pac-10 is just badbadbadbad. It has nothing to do with the Trojans being good.) But don’t forget that CBS and ESPN have a few billion reasons to trumpet the SEC, so that helps.

USC has dominated the Pac-10 for several years now. Florida has done it in the SEC for several weeks. That’s the first, most obvious difference.

Plus, how many true football powerhouses has there ever been in the Pac-10? The last time one of those schools other than USC won a national title was UCLA in the 1950s. LSU took it just last year.

No one will dominate the SEC for all that long. There are too many good coaches and too many fan bases that demand excellence. Fulmer would never have been fired in the Pac-10 for what his team has done in his tenure there, but in the SEC he gets shown the door.

I could see Florida having the upper hand in the SEC East for the forseeable future. Tennessee will be rebuilding for at least a few years, and Mark Richt isn’t up to the task of stopping the Gators. But the west will be pretty competitive year in and year-out. Bama is good this year, and will be better next. LSU is having a year somewhat similar to UF in terms of rebuilding after a national championship, but I guarantee they’ll be back, and smokin’, in short order. Auburn is usually solid, this year notwithstanding; and Ole Miss and Arkansas have both elevated themselves, either through play and talent and/or coaching.

I could see Florida winning the SEC East for the next few years and winning in Atlanta more often than not, but this conference is too deep for one team to do what Southern Cal did to the Pac-10. Also, don’t forget fan interest. Who really cares about Oregon State or Stanford? Meanwhile we have teams in the SEC with rabid followings at all levels, from Florida/Bama to South Carolina to Mississippi, for crying out loud. There is a passion to win and be successful here. In the Pac-10 it’s just a spectator sport.