It'sNotAFakeID
All-American
It's just too coincidental that ESPN [who we all know has a very strong tie to the SEC] all picked South Carolina. I know, I know; correlation doesn't imply causation. But the possibility is there.Sometimes people pick teams because they think they're going to win...not because they're being paid. Kind of like how sometimes running backs are able to score 38 touchdowns in a season becuase they're good, not because they're on an above average team.....its weird how the real world works out like that.
I think the perceived valence of the SEC being better is just enforced way too much by ESPN and that has an effect on everything else.