A significant shift in college football is unfolding as previously dominant SEC teams are finding the going against Power 5 opponents increasingly tough.

SEC teams losing to Top 25 and unranked Power Five opponents happens every season, but what's unusual is that there have been six such losses in the first two weeks of the new college football season.

Florida lost to Utah. LSU lost to Florida State. South Carolina lost to North Carolina. Texas A&M lost to Miami, and Alabama lost to Texas.

In other words: SEC football isn't the best conference in college football this season. Period!

After just two weeks into the season, the conference has a record of 1-4 when facing Top 25 opponents and 2-6 when playing against teams from the Power Five conferences.

The SEC's reputation won't bounce back soon, but this Saturday presents a couple of chances, with Missouri hosting No. 16 Kansas State at noon, and Arkansas taking on BYU, who's currently 2-0, at 7:30 PM EDT.

The influence of NIL benefits and the transfer portal on college football has inevitably led to more balanced rosters.

High-caliber players are joining various teams, creating more balance. While there may not be a standout team this year, there are plenty of contenders across all the conferences.

While traditional powerhouses like Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, and Michigan still lead in recruiting rankings, programs such as Maryland, Missouri, and Texas Tech are now successfully recruiting five-star high school players.

Consequently, the dominant SEC teams are finding it increasingly challenging to assert their dominance over Power Five opponents. For the first time since 2017, all Power 5 conferences are represented in the AP top-5 ranked teams.

Setting a conference record heading into Week 3, the Pac-12 has a recording-breaking eight teams ranked in the AP top 25 poll, followed by the SEC with five, the Big Ten and ACC tied with four, and the Big 12 with three.